IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 

LiKl    125 
u:  Bi    112.2 

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1  US  11^ 

WUu 

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1  1.4       1.6 

I.I 

1.25 

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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


2j  .p;est  main  strait 

WIJBSTiS,  >4.Y.  14580 
(716)  873-4503 


A^. 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVl/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


iV 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  mei!leur  exempleire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  I.es  details 
de  cet  exempiaire  Qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  una 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normal^  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


□    Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

□    Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagee 

□    Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  ot/ou  pelliculie 

□    Cover  title  missing/ 
Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

□    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 

r~l[   Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
I I    Pages  d6color6es,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^es 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


D 


D 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serree  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  dtait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 


I      I    Pages  detached/ 


D 
D 


Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 


I    "1  Showthrough/ 

I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


I      I    Includes  supplementary  material/ 


Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure. 
etc..  ont  6t6  filmdes  i  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


D 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires; 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous 

10X                            14X                            18X                            22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

Th«  copy  filmed  h«r«  hat  b««n  r«produc«d  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 


L'axampiaira  filmi  fut  raprodult  grAca  A  la 
ginArotIti  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 


Tha  imagas  appearing  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
poaalbia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  laglbdlty 
ci  tha  original  copy  und  in  Itaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacifications. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^^>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  imagas  suivantes  ont  AtA  reproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nettetA  de  i'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  av«c  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmaga. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  fiimis  en  commenpant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iiiusti'ation,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmte  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  appareitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  rAduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

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■WnSTBTTTT 


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OF 


MR.  GUSHING,   OF  MASSACHUSETTS, 


ON 


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THE    SUBJECT    OF    THE    OREGON    TERRITORY. 


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DELIVERED 


IN    THE    HOUSE    OF   REPRESENTATIVES, 


May  17  and  22,  1838. 


WASHINGTON: 

rUINFRD    HY    GAL7.S    AND    SKATOiV. 
1833.   . 


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SPEECH. 


THE  OREaON  TERRITORY. 
House  of  Representatives,  May  17  and  22. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  having  communicat- 
«d  to  the  House  on  the  3d  of  May,  1838,  a  message  on  the 
flubject  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains, 

Mr.  Ct^sRiNQ  moved  that  said  message,  and  the  report  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  accompanying  the  same,  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Foreign  AflTuirs,  with  instructions  to 
inquire  into  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  post  on  the 
river  Columbia,  for  the  detience  and  occupation  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  United  States  watered  by  said  liver,  and  also 
to  consider  the  expediency  of  making  further  provision  by 
law  to  prevent  the  intermeddling  of  the  efHcers  or  subjects 
of  foreign  Powers  with  the  Indians  of  the  United  States. 
Which  motion  coming  up  for  consideration  on  the  17th  of 
May,  1838, 

Mr.  CUSHINQ  spoke  in  support  of  the  same,  as  fol- 
lows: 

Mr.  Speaker ;  I  rise  to  call  the  attention  of  the  House  to 
a  subject  very  different  from  what  has  for  some  time 
past  occupied  its  time;  neither  a  party  nor  a  personal  ques- 
tion, but  one  greatly  concerning  the  national  honor  and  the 
rights  and  peace  of  the  country ;  a  question  of  deep  inte- 
rest between  the  United  States  and  a  foreign  Power.  In 
discussing  it,  I  shall  have  to  go  over  many  dry  details  of 
treaties  and  facts,  to  the  consideration  of  which  it  may  be 
difficult  to  gain  the  ear  of  the  House.  But  impressed  as  I 
am  with  the  importanceof  the  question  to  the  whole  nation, 
I  shall  proceed  to  speak,  addressing  myself  to  the  country 
as  much  as  to  the  House.  Thegreatseaof  public  opinion — 
that  public  opinion  which,  in  all  the  civilized  communities 
of  our  day,  and  more  especially  among  us,  governs  the  Gov- 
ernment— is  composed  of  drops,  and  every  particle  infused 
into  the  general  mass  modifies  the  composition.  I  may, 
therefore,  without  presumption,  hope  to  be  of  some  service 
in  reviving,  at  least,  an  important  question  which  has  al- 
ready slumbered  too  long,  and  the  continued  neglect  of 
which  would  be  most  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the 
United  States. 

My  proposition  has,  for  its  main  object,  to  assert  the 
rights  of  the  United  States  to  the  country  watered  by  the 
river  Columbia,  which  will  require  of  me  to  speak  with 
freedom  and  plainnessof  the  cenduct  of  Great  Britain,  who 
alone  disputes  the  title  of  the  United  States.  I  shall  do 
this  in  no  unfriendly  feeling  towards  Great  Britain,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  with  entire  respect  for  her,  and  in  the  convic- 
tion that  now  is  the  time,  of  all  others,  when  the  conflicting 
rights  of  the  two  countries  may  be  debated  without  the 
least  hazard  of  disturbing  their  amicable  relations.  If  any 
such  hazard  existed,  it  would  become  us  to  encounter  it 
manfully,  rather  than  to  abandon  the  rights  and  sacrifice 
the  honor  of  the  country ;  but  no  such  hazard  i  oes  in  tact 
exist,  nor  any  cause  whatever  to  deter  the  House  from 
probing  the  matter  to  the  ver^  bottom.  Great  Britain  is  at 
this  moment  under  large  obligations  to  the  United  States 
for  the  forbearance  manifested  by  our  Government  during 
the  late  troubles  in  her  American  colonies.  She  knows, 
and  feels,  and  avows  it.    And  having  approved  ourselves 


just,  nay,  generous,  towards  her  )»  the  hour  of  her  need, 
we  may  well  demand  ofhertobe  jt  towards  us,  and  to  ab- 
stain from  those  persevering  cncro  Imenis  on  our  rights 
by  landandsea,whichhaveinallpa  imeschnracterized  her 
foreign  policy.  Now  is  the  accepted  time  to  adjust  espe^ 
cially  our  respective  territoilal  pretensions  upon  this  conti- 
nent. 

In  the  first  place,  I  shall  endeavor  to  exhibit  a  summary 
view  of  the  title  of  the  United  States  tdCthe  Oregon  Terri- 
tory ;  after  which,  I  shall  state  the  considerations  which, 
in  my  judgment,  render  it  an  imperative  duty  to  take  im- 
mediate measures  for  the  occupation  of  that  Territory. 

It  is  a  principle,  adopted  by  European  nations  in  their 
settlements  on  this  Continent,  that  prioriry  of  discovery, 
followed  in  a  reasonable  time  by  actual  occupation,  confer* 
exclusive  territorial  jurisdiction  and  sovereignty.  It  is  also 
held  that  an  establishment,  once  made,  extends  by  conti- 
guity into  the  neighboring  regions,  if  the  discovery  be  of 
an  island,  it  has,  in  most  cases,  been  regarded  as  giving  a 
title  to  the  whole  island;  if  on  the  coast  of  the  continent, 
then  as  reaching  indefinitely  along  the  coast  and  into  the 
interior,  with  limits  to  be  decided  by  actual  occupation,  by 
compact  between  conflicting  claimants,  or  by  force.  Whe- 
ther this  be  just  or  not,  as  regards  the  Indians  inhabiting 
America,  is  another  question.  I  speak  of  it  only  as  the 
conventional  rule,  recognised  in  the  negotiations,  and  prac- 
tised upon  in  the  colonial  enterprises,  of  the  chief  nations 
of  Europe ;  and  thus  constituting  a  part  of  that  somewhat 
uncertain  mixture  of  conventions  and  of  national  equity, 
which  is  called  the  Law  of  Nations. 

This  general  principle,  which  enters  into  the  present 
question  in  all  its  parts,  includes  a  particular  principle, 
which  is  still  more  specifically  applicable  to  it.  The  disco- 
very of  the  mouth  of  a  great  river,  or  the  exploration  of  it, 
followed  in  a  reasonable  time  by  the  actual  assertion  of  ter- 
ritorial sovereignty,  gives  an  exclusive  right  to  all  the  coun- 
try watered  by  that  river.  Without  referring  to  various 
foreign  cases  of  the  application  of  this  doctrine,  it  will  bo 
sufficient  for  the  satisfac'ion  of  the  House  to  show  how  it 
has  been  treated  by  the  United  States. 

In  the  letter  of  Messrs.  Monroe  and  Pinckney  to  Don 
Pedro  Cevallos,  April  21,  1805,  it  is  said  ; 

"  When  any  European  nation  takes  possesaion  of  any  extent 
ofseacoast,  that  possession  is  understood  as  extending  into  the 
interior  country  to  the  sourres  of  the  rivers  emptying  witbia 
that  coast,  to  all  their  branches,  and  the  country  they  cover, 
and  to  give  it  a  right,  in  ejtclusion  of  all  other  nations,  to  the 
same." 

This  position  is  adopted  by  Mr.  Adams  in  his  letter  to 
Don  Luis  de  Onis,  March  12,  1818;  and  by  Mr.  Gallatin, 
in  his  discussion  of  the  present  question.  (Executive  Docs. 
20th  Con.  1st  Ses.  No.  199,  p.  61.) 

Now,  whatever  rights,  more  or  less,  are  derivable  from 
discovery,  belong  to  the  United  States  alone. 

The  river  Columbia  was  first  discovered  in  1793,  (ex- 
cepting whether  it  may  have  been  previously  discovered  by 
the  old  Spanish  navigators,)  by  Captain  Robert  Gray,  of 
the  American  ship  Columbia,  fitted  out  in  Boston,  and  re- 
ceived  from  him  the  name  of  the  ship  he  commanded.  In 
the  same  year,  but  confessedly  subsequent  to  this,  and  up- 
on information  derived  from  Captain  Gray,  it  was  visit- 
ed by  Vancouver,  in  behalf  of  Great  Britain.    Priority  ot 


unn 


/g'7779 


Jiiico\ery,  therefore,  ia  cirarly  with  Ibc  United  Stulep,  as 
against  Great  Britain.  Indeed,  Gray  had  previously,  in 
1788,  explored  the  strait  of  Juan  de  Fucn,  north  ot  the 
Columbia.  So  that,  leaving  out  of  view  the  rights  of  Spain 
by  discovery,  and  of  Spain  and  France  bi'  contij^uity  and 
pxtenHion..  the  United  States  cl.tim  the  Oregon  Territory 
by  rii;ht  of  discovery. 

By  cession  fmin  France,  in  180:{,  the  United  States  ac- 
quired Louisiana,  and  all  the  right  j  of  France  in  that  di- 
rection. What  are  the  northwestern  limits  of  Louittiana? 
Extension  by  contiguity  would  carry  the  pretensions  of 
France  to  tiie  Pacific.  By  Great  Britain  herself,  the  pos- 
session of  the  body  of  the  continent  was  always  treated  as 
stretching  across  the  entire  breadth  of  the  continent.  Her 
grants  to  Massachusetts  and  to  other  colonies  reach  to  the 
Pacii:c.  Conflicts  of  pretension  thus  grew  up  between 
France  and  Great  Britain,  which  were  adjusted,  in  17G3, 
by  tlic  treaty  of  Versailles,  by  which  Great  Britain  ceded 
to  France  all  claims  to  land  wrst  of  the  rviisMsaippi.  Prior 
Jo  which,  by^  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  concluded  in  1713, 
France  and  Great  Britain  agreed  to  appoint  commissioners 
to  describe  and  settle  the  boundaries  between  the  French  and 
English  colonics  in  North  America  ;  which  resulted  in  the 
establishment  of  the  parallel  of  49  degrees  north  as  the 
northern  limit  of  Louisiana.  As  between  Great  Britain 
and  France,  then,  Louisiana  was  bounded,  east  by  the 
Mississippi,  north  by  latitude  49  deg.  N.,  and  westward  by 
the  Pacific  ;  and  by  the  Louisiana  treaty,  tlie  United  States 
added  to  her  own  rights  of  discovery  the  [ire-cxisting  rights 
of  France. 

Iri  this  state  of  the  case,  Mr.  Jefferson  devised  and  au- 
thorized, in  1805,  the  celebrated  expedition  of  Lewis  and 
Clark,  who  ascended  the  Missouri,  crossed  the  Rocky 
mountaini>,  reached  the  head-waters  of  the  Columbia,  de- 
scended the  river,  erected  the  works  called  Foit  Clatsop, 
and  in  the  most  formal  and  authentic  manner  asserted  the 
rights  of  the  United  States  in  and  to  the  whole  country. 
No  establishment  of  any  other  Power  existed  at  that  time 
on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia. 

But  the  enterprise  of  colonizing  that  country  was  un- 
dertaken in  1811  by  John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New  York; 
one  of  those  truly  noble  merchants  "who,  by  their  great 
commercial  enterprise,  have  enriched  nations,  peopled  wil- 
dernesses, and  extended  the  bounds  of  empire  ;"  a  man  of 
fareseein^  mind,  with  plans  covering  the  globe,  and  with 
results  as  grand  as  the  plans  ;  a  merchant,  in  wealth  and 
greatness  of  desigri  equalling  the  Medici  of  Florence,  the 
Dorias  of  Genoa,  and  the  Foscari  of  Venice,  without  the 
political  ambition  which  rendered  their  wealth  a  curse  to 
their  country.  The  narrative,  by  Washington  Irving,  of 
that  magnificent  undertaking,  belongs  to  the  classic  litera- 
ture of  the  world,  combining  the  truth  of  history  with  the 
stirring  interest  of  mmance,  Mr.  Astor's  establishment 
at  Astoria,  having  for  its  immediate  object  the  prosecution 
of  the  fur-trade,  was  anterior  to  any  establishment  on  the 
Columbia  by  any  Power  other  than  the  United  States.  It 
was  broken  up  by  the  war  of  ISISJ,  and  taken  possession 
of  by  Great  Britain  in  the  course  of  her  belligerent  opera- 
tions; but  again  formally  surrendered  to  us  in  1818,  in 
expre—  obedience  to  the  treaty  of  Ghent.—  ( Doc.  17th  Con. 
1st  Ses.  Exec.  No.  328.)  What  was  the  character  of  this 
transaction  clearly  appears  from  the  explanations  on  the  sub- 
ject exchanged  by  Mr.  Rush  and  Lord  Castlertagh.  Mr. 
Rush  says : 

"  I  told  hira,  &c.  ♦  *  Granting  that  she  (Esgland)  had 
a  claim,  was  the  lawfulness  of  the  t.tep  taken  by  the  United 
States  (that  is,  resuming  the  possession  of  Astoria)  to  be  ques- 
tioned? That  the  post  was  in  tlieir  possession  before  the  war 
of  1812,  was  admitted ;  and,  also,  that  it  had  fallen,  by  capture, 
into  the  hands  of  Britain  during  the  war.  How,  then,  under  a 
treaty  of  peace,  the  first  artiche  of  which  stipulated  the  mutual 
restitution  of  all  places  reduced  by  the  arms  of  either  party,  was 
our  right  to  restitution  to  be  impeached?  ♦  *  ♦  * 
His  lordship  admitted  our  right  to  restitution,  and  our 
claim  to  be  in  possession,  when  negotiations  far  the  title 
were  going  on.  —(Bush's  London,  p.  74.) 

Or,  as  stated  in  Mr.  Rush's  official  despatch : 


"  LonI  Cui-ilerengli  (•dmilted,  in  iIk^  (TiosI  aniple  exttnt,  oiir 
right  to  l)c  reinstated,  and  tu  be  the  party  in  poasef'xion  while 
lieulint;  of  the  title."— (Letter  Feb.  IS  18.) 

Hero,  then,  wo  have  the  oiiginal  title  of  the  United 
Slates  by  discovery,  fortitied  by  the  rights  of  France,  con- 
tinued by  the  exploration  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  by  the  for- 
mal taking  of  possession,  and  by  regular  occupation,  and 
completed  by  the  recognition  of  Great  Britain. 

Nor  is  this  the  whole  strength  of  our  case.  By  the 
Florida  treaty,  crmcludcd  in  1819,  Spain  ceded  to  the  Uni 
ted  States  all  her  claims  on  this  continent  north  of  latitude 
12  degrees  north,  And  this  was  a  most  important  cession. 
Indeed  that  treaty  was  rather  a  convention  of  mutual  ces 
sions  than  of  pecuniary  indemnities  merely.  Mr.  AdamSj 
who,  in  all  cases  where  in  the  course  of  a  long  life  of  pub- 
lic service  he  has  been  called  to  maintain  the  rights  of  hi";) 
country,  has  done  it  ably  and  thoroughly,  and  who  negoti- 
ated that  treaty,  deserves  universal  credit  for  its  favorable 
conditions  in  this  respect.  In  conHideration  of  the  cession  to 
Spain,  made  under  the  positive  instructions  of  President 
Monroe,  of  our  claims  to  the  Riodel  Norte,  which  claims  Mr, 
Adams  defended  strenuously  to  the  last,  the  United  States 
obtained,  in  addition  to  East  and  West  Florida,  a  cession  ol 
all  the  rights  ofSpain  in  the  valley  and  coast  of  the  Oregon  ; 
rights  which  alone  could  seriously  conflict  with  our  own 
pretensions  on  the  Pacific. 

Spain,  prior  to  1819,  claimed  that  whole  country  to 
Prince  William's  sound,  in  the  GOth  parallel  of  latitude. 
She  did  this,  in  right  of  the  extension  of  her  Mexican  pos- 
sessions by  contiguity,  and  in  right  of  early  discovery  and 
repeated  explorations  and  acts  of  occupation.  Hernan 
Cortes,  the  great  conqueror  himself,  in  the  prosecution  of 
his  own  splendid  designs,  explored,  in  1526,  the  northwcs- 
I  em  coast  of  America  to  the  northern  limits  of  California. 
The  Spaniards,  also,  point  to  various  other  expeditions  fit- 
ted out  from  Acapuico  or  San  Bias  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries;  as  that  of  Gali  in  1582  to  latitude 
57  degrees  north;  Juan  de  Fuca  in  1592,  who  is  said  to 
have  discovered,  and  certainly  gave  his  name  to,  the  bay 
and  strait  still  bearing  if,  and  the  account  of  whose  voy- 
age in  the  trust-worthy  Purchas,  though  formerly  dispu- 
ted, seems  now  to  be  admitted,  (Murray's  N.  Am.  Dis. 
vol.  2,  p.  80  ;)  Vizcaino,  in  1602,  who  is  believed  by  some 
of  the  Spanish  writers  to  have  discovered  the  Oregon  ;*  De 
Fonte,  whoissaid  to  have  reached  She  latitude  54  degrees 
in  1640.  Why  these  accounts,  or  any  of  them,  should  be 
disputed,  I  know  not.  Some  of  them,  it  is  perfectly  cer- 
tain, rest  upon  the  most  ample  evidence.  Instead  of  be- 
ing ■nstrinsically  improbable,  it  would,  on  the  contrary, 
have  been  strange  indeed  if  Spain,  being  in  tranquilpos- 
session  of  New  California,  had  never  extended  her  voy- 
ages a  few  degrees  to  the  north  of  that  province  along  the 
same  coast. 

However  this  may  be,  no  English  navigator,  prior  to 
Cook,  has  any  pretension  to  antiquity  of  discovery  in  that 
quarter,  except  Sir  Francis  Drake.  He  was  a  pirate,, 
cruising  along  the  coast  and  in  the  seas  of  Spanish  Amer- 
ica as  a  bucaneer  and  a  plunderer,  making  private  war, 
and  cafturing  prizes  on  his  own  responsibility,  landing  to 
ravage  and  burn  the  towns,  and  hold  the  peaceful  people 
to  ransom  j  a  gallant  pirate,  to  be  sure,  brave  and  enter- 
prising ;  but  still  a  pirate,  and  knighted  as  such  Cot  the  mis- 
chief he  had  thus  done  to  Spain.  Whether  the  cruises 
of  a  bucaneer  can  confer  any  title  of  discovery  I  will  not 
stop  to  inquire ;  it  is  unnecessary  ;  for  no  credible  accoanS 


♦Torquemada,  in  the  authentic  account  of  Vizcaino's  expedi- 
tion, given  by  him  in  the  Monarquia  Indiana,  says  that  Martin 
de  Augila,  who  commanded  one  of  the  vessels  of  the  fleet, 
having  passed  northward  of  Cape  Blanco,  se  hallo  un  rio 
muy  caudaloso  y  hondable  *  *  Q,ueriendo  entrar  por  el,  los 
corrientes  nodiolugara  ello. — (Lib.  v.  c.  55.)  Humboldt,  how- 
ever, does  not  consider  this  to  have  been  the  Columbia;  but 
thinks  the  Columbia  was  first  visited  by  the'Spaniaids  in  l77C>, 
its  hay  having  been  entered  by  the  expedition  of  Heceta  and 
Quadra,  and  called  by  them  Entrada  de  Heoeta.— (Humboldt's 
New  Spain,  v.  iii,  c.  8,  s.  15.) 


■ 


•;st  anifile  exlf-nf,  our 
y  in  iiosseHnion  while 
'•) 

title  of  the  UriitpJ 
jhls  of  Franco,  coii- 
cl  Clark,  hy  the  for- 
iar  occupation,  and 
Britain. 

our  cage.  By  the 
n  ceded  to  the  Uni 
nt  north  of  latitude 
t  important  cession, 
ition  of  mutual  ces- 
rely.  Mr.  AdamSj 
fa  long  life  of  pub- 
n  the  richts  of  hii 
ly,  and  who  nrgoti- 
lit  for  its  favorable 
ion  of  the  cession  to 
ctions  of  President 
e,  which  claims  Mr, 
the  United  States 
Florida,  a  cession  ot 
last  of  the  Oregon  ; 
iffict  with  our  own 

whole  country  to 
mrallcl  of  latitude. 
'  her  Mexican  pos- 
arly  discovery  and 
:upation.  Hernan 
the  prosecution  of 
52G,  the  north wes- 
mits  of  California, 
her  expeditions  fit- 
the  sixteenth  and 
n  1582  to  latitude 
92,  who  is  said  to 
i  name  to,  the  bay 
unt  of  whose  voy- 
[h  formerly  dispu^  ' 
ay's  N.  Am.  Dis. 
^  believed  by  some 
the  Oregon  ;*  De 
latitude  54  degrees 
if  them,  ehould  be 
it  is  perfectly  cer- 
c.  Instead  of  be- 
on  the  contrary, 
g  in  tranquiKpos^ 
(tended  her  voy- 
)rovince  along  the 

avigator,  prior  to 
'  discovery  in  tha^ 
He  was  a  pirate,. 
)f  Spanish  Amer- 
king  private  war, 
iibility,  landing  to 
le  peaceful  people 
brave  and  enter- 
s  such  for  the  mis- 
lether  the  cruises 
covery  I  will  not 
0  credible  accoant 


Vizcafno's  cxpedi- 
),  says  that  Martin 
essels  of  the  fleet, 
ICO,  se  hallo  iin  rio 
eiitrar  por  el,  los 
)  Humboldt,  how- 
:he  Coluinbia;  but 
'Spaniaids  in  1775, 
on  of  Heceta  and 
leta.— (Humboldt's 


\ii  his  vova^je  curriis  it  beyond  latitude  i2  or  43  ;  and  the 
landing  tnat  he  miidc  in  order  tu  claim  title  was  in  latitude 
38  decrees  30  minutes— within  the  acknowledged  limits  of 
the  Spanish  province  of  Californa. 

And  without  dwelling  upon  these  old  voyages  in  the 
sixteenth  and  scvcnti'eiilh  centuries,  we  have  that  of  Pe- 
rez in  1774  to  latiUide  54  dr-rrces,  and  of  Cluadra  in  1775 
to  latitude  57  degrees— both  anterior  to  that  of  Cook  ;  fol- 
lowed by  Arti-aga  in  1779,  Martinez  in  1788,  Elisa  in  1790, 
and  Maluapina  in  1791,  carrying  up  the  Spanish  disco- 
veries to  the  strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  and  even  to  Prince 
William's  Sound,  all  of  them  preceding  Vancouver.  All 
the  title  of  Spain,  acquired  in  the  various  modes  usual  in 
Buch  cases,  is  now  vested  in  the  United  States  by  the  Flo- 
rida treaty;  and,  united  with  the  oiher  sources  of  title  |ios- 
feessed  by  us,  constitutes  a  right  ol  dominion  not  to  be 
shaken  by  any  European  Power, 

In  aldition  to,  and  independent  of  all  which,  the  natur- 
al progress  of  population  westward  by  extension,  on  the 
ground  of  contiguity,  would  give  us  a  claim  of  title  supe- 
rior to  that  of  any  other  nation,  we  occupying  and  settling 
indisputably  to  the  very  heart  of  the  continent. 

In  fact,  our  title  saulli  of  latitude  54  degrees  is  practically 
admitted  by  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  except  Great  Britain. 
An  old  agreement  existed  between  Russia  and  Spain,  by 
which  the  former  was  left  undisturbed  in  the  extreme 
northern  latitudes  of  Alaska.  (N.  Amer.  Review,  No. 
61,  p.  506.)  After  the  conclusion  of  the  Florida  treaty,  a 
convention  was  entered  into  between  the  United  States  and 
Russia,  whoso  deportment  towards  this  country  has  always 
been  distinguished  by  dignity  and  liberality— the  conven- 
tion of  the  17th  April,  1821,  which  closed  the  door  against 
any  diflerence  between  us  in  that  quarter,  by  an  agreement 
that  Russia  would  make  no  settlement  on  the  northwest 
coast  of  America  south  of  latitude  54  degrees,  and  the 
United  States  none  to  the  north  of  it ;  thus  fixing  that 
parallel  as  the  line  betwixt  our  respective  pretensions.  But 
the  conduct  of  Great  Britain  has,  I  am  compelled  to  say, 
been  marked  by  rapacity,  illiberality,  and  gross  disregard 
of  our  just  rights,  strikingly  contrasted  with  the  honorable 
procedure  of  Russia. 

Desirous  of  settling  this  matter  fairly  and  liberally 
with  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  in  1823,  under  the 
authority  of  President  Monroe,  and  in  182G,  under  that  of 
President  Adams,  while  justly  entitled  to  claim,  by  virtue 
of  its  own  title,  and  that  of  Spain  and  France,  to  latitude 
54  degrees,  offered  to  Great  Britain  to  compromise  the 
question  by  extending  the  northern  line  of  Louisiana— that 
is  to  say,  the  parallel  of  19  degrees— to  the  Pacific  :  thus 
conceding  to  Great  Britain  five  degrees  of  latitude  on  the 
Pacific,  and  enabling  her  to  accomplish  her  desire  to  ex- 
tend her  posessions  across  the  continent  from  sea  to  sea. 
In  so  doing,  we  should,  in  fact,  cede  a  portion  of  our  just 
rights,  which  cover  the  whole  of  the  vally  of  the  Columbia ; 
but  the  love  of  peace,  and  the  consideration  that  Louisiana 
Was  bounded  by  latitude  49  degrees,  would  have  justified 
such  an  arrangement.  To  this  Great  Britain  obstinately 
refused  to  accede.  And  I  must  now  ask  the  attention  of  the 
House  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  her  pretensions. 

I  assume,  as  the  result  of  the  arguments  which  I  have 
Hius  cursorily  presented  to  the  Housj;,  that  the  United 
States  have  a  clear  title  to  the  Oregon  'I'erritory,  as  against 
any  and  every  FiUropean  Power,  erUending  from  latitude 
42  degrees,  the  line  of  the  Mexican  Republic,  to  latitude 
54  degrees,  the  line  adjusted  with  Russia.  I  admit,  in 
pursuance  of  the  negotiations  of  1S23  and  182G,  that  it  may 
De  wise  to  settle  the  matter,  as  between  us  and  Great  Bri- 
tain, at  latitude  49  degrees,  striking  the  Pacific  in  the  strait 
6f  Juan  do  Fuca.  And  I  hold  that  the  United  States  can- 
not, in  safety  or  in  honor,  concede  any  thing  more  than 
this. 

Between  these  limits  Great  Britain  is  unable  to  claim  any 
territory,  by  merely  sailing  along  the  coast  and  touching 
here  and  there,  because  preceded  in  that  by  navigators  in 
the  service  of  Spain  ;  all  whose  right  is  vested  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  by  I  lie  Florida  treaty. 
,:  Great  Britain  cannot  claim  it  as  a  dependency  of  the  ri- 


-*'■• 


ver  Columbia,  because  anticiputid  in  the  navigation  dfthat 
river  by  Gray ;  in  the  exploration  of  it  by  Lewis  and  Clark; 
in  the  occupation  of  it  iiy  Lewis  and  Clark  and  by  Mr. 
Astor. 

Great  Britain  is  precluded  from  claiming  it  as  residuary 
territory  ofhers,  under  the  title  by  which  she  formerljr  held 
this  CDiritry,  because  prevented  by  the  tJeaty  of  1763  be- 
tween lierand  France,  in  which  she  disclaims  irrevocably 
beyond  the  Mississippi;  the  seventh  article  being  in  these 
words  ; 

"The  confines  between  the  Uritisli  and  French  posscsaion* 
in  North  Anirricu  sliiill  be  fixed  irrevocably  by  a  line  drawn 
along  iho  middle  of  the  Mi.^sishippi  fioni  its  source  tu  the  river 
Ibervillr,  and  from  thence,  by  the  middle  of  the  river  UiPivillc 
andihe  lakes  Maurcpnaniid  Pontchartriiin,  to  the  sea."— (Chal- 
uier's  Tr.  vol.1,  473.) 

Great  Britain  is  forbidden  to  claim  it  as  parcel  of  the  old 
North  American  possessions  still  retained  by  her  in  virtue 
of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  because  the  decision  of  the  commis- 
sioners under  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  establishes  the  line  of  49 
degrees  westward  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  The  rule  of 
extension  by  contiguity  would,  to  b  sure,  if  no  other  con- 
siderations intervened,  carry  her  possessions  to  the  Paci- 
fic ;  but  it  would  be  along  the  parallel  of  49  degrees,  because 
the  same  rule  of  extension  would  carry  us  to  the  Pacific. 

That  is  to  say,  Great  Britain  is,  upon  all  principles  of  in- 
ternational law,  and  by  her  own  solemn  contracts,  debarred 
and  estopped  from  any  and  every  species  of  exclusive  right 
or  claim  whatsosver,  south  of  latitude  49  degrees,  and  west 
of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  to  the  Pacific. 

Accordingly,  conscious  of  the  utter  futility  of  any  such 
claim.  Great  Britain  makes  no  claim  to  sovereignty  over 
any  part  of  the  territory  in  question.  Her  pretension  ex- 
tends to  the  whole  of  the  territory,  but  is  preferred  by  her 
in  the  shape  of  a  pretended  right  of  joint  occupancy  of  eve- 
ry part  of  it  in  common  with  other  Powers,  leaving  sus- 
pended in  abeyance  the  right  of  exclusive  dominion  as  to 
any  part  of  it. 

This  extraordinary  pretension  of  hers  is  grounded  on 
the  Nootka  Convention  as  it  is  commonly  called — a  treaty 
extorted  by  her  from  Spain  in  1790,  under  circumstances 
of  passionate  injui=lice,  which,  even  at  that  stormy  period, 
when  the  Powers  of  Europe  were  accustomed  to  fly  to  vio- 
lence upon  the  smallest  real  or  imaginary  injury,  was  barely 
tolerated  by  the  world,  and  which,  in  the  present  more  en- 
lightened times  of  general  aversion  to  war,  could  not  es- 
cape the  severest  reprobation.  This  convention  confers  a 
claim  as  against  Spain  only,  and  so  much  of  our  right  as 
we  derive  from  Spain.  The  substance  of  it  is,  that  subjects 
of  either  of  the  two  parties.  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  are 
not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  other,  whether  in  navigating  or 
fishing  in  the  Pacific  ocean,  or  in  landing  on  the  coast,  in 
places  not  already  occupied,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on 
commerce  with  the  natives,  or  of  making  settlements  there. 
I  shall  not  trouble  the  House  with  the  multiplied  details  of 
this  question,  as  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain.  Inde- 
pendently of  the  force  and  eflcct  of  it  in  that  relation,  there 
are  several  answers  to  it  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 
It  settles  no  definite  limits  of  territorial  jurisdiction.  It 
leaves  the  question  of  sovereignty  upon  the  titles  of  Spain 
or  France.  Being  a  convention  of  usufruct  only,  ana  not 
of  territorial  jurisdiction  or  of  sovereignty,  it  might  be  ob- 
ligatory on  Spain  so  long  as  she  retained  the  jurisdiction, 
but  not  upon  her  successor  in  sbvereignty.  Beyond  which 
the  United  States  hold  under  France  as  well  as  Spain ; 
and  still  more  by  discoveries  of  their  own,  followed  by  ac- 
tuaf  occupation,  that  occupation  having  been  recognized  by 
the  authorities  of  Great  Britain. 

It  only  remains,  for  the  disposal  of  this  part  of  the  di- 
plomatic question,  that  I  should  state  the  actual  position 
of  it  upon  the  treaties  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain. 

By  the  treaty  of  Paris,  September  3,  1783,  our  boundary 
is,  beginning  at  the  Lake  of  the  Woods;  "thence  through 
the  said  lake  to  the  most  northwestern  point  thereof,  and 
from  thence  on  a  due  west  course  to  the  river  Mississippi ; 
thence,  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  said 


i*     * 

I- 


I    f 


river  MiMi^sippi,"  in  confurniity  with  the  proviaions  of  the 
treaty  of  Vemailiei  before  cited,  and  so  proceeding;  down 
the  rivor  to  the  bounds  of  Louisiana  and  Florida  in  that 
direction. 

The  annexation  of  Louisiana  to  tho  Uiiilcd  States 
changed,  of  course,  our  northwestern  frontier.  But  no 
new  convention  was  immediately  concluded,  difining  this 
on  the  side  of  Great  Britain.  The  treaty  of  Ghent,  De- 
cember 24,  1814,  proceeds  on  tho  assumption  of  limits  ac- 
cording to  the  sia^us  ante  bcllum.  It  provides  for  ascer- 
taining the  norlliwestern  point  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods; 
but  it  goes  no  farther  westward.  In  that  direction  the 
line  is  continued  by  the  convention  of  October  20,  181d, 
"  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Stony  Mountains, 
along  tho  parallel  of  49  degrees,"  in  just  application  of  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht.  By  the  samo  convention,  it  is  agreed, 
that  any  country  that  may  be  cluiiiied  by  either  party  on  the 
northwest  coast  of  America,  westward  of  the  Stony  iVloun- 
tains,  shall,  together  with  its  harbors,  bays,  and  creeks, 
and  the  navigation  of  all  rivers  within  tho  same,  be  free 
and  open,  for  the  term  often  years,  to  the  vessels,  eitizens, 
and  subjects  of  the  two  Powers;  this  agreement  not  to  be 
construed  to  the  prejudice  of  any  claim  which  either  of  tlie 
parties  may  have  to  any  part  of  the  said  country.  Which 
agreement,  by  the  convention  of  August  6,  1837,  was  con- 
tinued indefinitely,  subject  to  be  terminated  by  either  ! 
party  on  twelve  months'  notice.  I 

Idesiretosecthisagreementterminated as soonas possible.  { 
Itgivesnothingtothe  United  States;  for  we  have  no  occasion 
to  ask  the  consent  of  Great  Britain  to  use  the  harbors,  bays,  I 
creeks,  and  rivers  of  our  own  territory.  It  gives  every  thing  \ 
to  Great  Britain  ;  because  without  it  her  vessels  and  sub- 
jects would  be  mere  intruders  and  interlopers  in  a  country 
which  belongs  to  us.  I  desire  to  .see  the  treaty  notice  given 
by  the  United  Slates,  and  provision  made  by  law  for  the 
occupation  of  the  country  by  its  rightful  sovereign.  The 
notice,  we  may  rest  assured,  will  never  bo  given  by  Great 
Britain.  Her  policy  is  proi^rastination,  in  this  case,  as  in 
that  of  our  northeastern  frontier ;  and  for  precisely  the 
same  reason.  In  both  cases  she  has,  under  guise  of  tem- 
porary agreements,  availed  herself  of  our  neglect,  or  at 
least  of  our  unsuspecting  good  faith,  to  insinuate  herself 
into  actual  possession  of  the  territory  in  dispute.  To  set- 
tle the  question,  is  to  oust  the  intruder.  To  be  sure,  there 
ia  a  stipulation  that  the  agreement  shall  not  prejudice  the 
rights  of  either  party;  but  it  does  prejudice  our  rights, 
deeply,  fatally,  as  I  will  prove  to  this  House  by  the  most 
authentic  factb. 

Before  I  enter  upon  this,  the  more  important  and  inte- 
resting part  of  this  subject,  I  have  a  concluding  suggestion 
to  make  on  the  question  of  title.  I  derive  ray  knowledge 
of  this  from  books;  especially  the  negotiations  of  1823  and 
1826,  (Doc.  19lh  Congress,  1st  sess..  Exec.  No.  65;  and 
Doc.  20ih  Con.  1st  ses.  Exec.  No.  199,)  and  the  reports  of 
Mr.  Bavlies,  of  Mass.,  who,  with  Mr.  Floyd,  of  Va.,  was 
instrumental  in  bringing  this  topi<',  before  a  former  Congress. 
(Rep.  19th  Cong.  1st  ses.  Nos.3S>  and  213.)  But  there  is  an 
individual  present  (Mr.  Adams)  who  is  a  living  record  of  the 
diplomatic  history  of  the  country,  and  who  was  personally 
conversant  with  some  of  the  most  material  of  these  nego- 
tiations. With  permission  of  the  House,  I  would  respect- 
fully appeal  to  my  colleague  to  state  whether  I  have  pro- 
perly represented  the  facts  and  treaties  bearing  upon  our 
rights  in  this  matter;  since,  if  I  have  erred  in  any  essen- 
tial point,  I  wish  to  be  corrected  on  the  spot,  by  one  to 
whose  ampler  knowledge  of  the  subject  I  shall  cheerfully 
defer. 

[Mr.  Adams  then  rose  and  addressed  the  House  in  a 
speech  of  considerable  length,  on  various  interesting  topics 
appertaining  to  this  question,  to  the  Louisiana  and  Florida 
treaties,  and  to  our  relations  with  Great  Britain  ;  after 
which  Mr.  Cushin-o  resumed  his  speech,  and  continued 
and  concluded  it  on  the  22d  of  May.] 

Mr.  Speaker:  I  feel  under  great  obligations  to  my  col- 
league  for  his  prompt  compliance  with  my  request,  and  for 
the  information  he  has  communicated  to  the  House.     Hiis 


the  inc 
the  ret 
b«twc( 
MUlili 
M  alo 
trade 
fisrth, 
have 


that 
possei 
for  th( 
the  CO 
can  ad 
dre 
intcre 
Ml 
iastan 


opinion  of  the  validity  of  our  title  to  the  country  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains  will  deservedly  have  great  weight  in  *■  B 
the  public  estimation.  And  1  do  not  perceive  that  he  andColum 
I  differ  materially  in  regard  to  the  sources  of  that  title :  for,  pointei 
if  he  understood  me  au  maintaining  the  aliutract  justice  of  whole 
tho  right  of  discovery,  absuined  by  European  Powers  to  bank* 
justify  their  conquests  and  acquisitions  in  the  New  World  Jj"\" 
as  against  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  it  must  have  been  be- ' 
cause  I  did  notex|iresB  myself  with  sullicient  fullnesson  that 
head.  What  I  meant  and  mean  to  advance  in  thiaresjiect 
is,  only,  that  au  a  conventional  rule,  by  which  to  adjust 
claims  of  territory  on  this  continent  among  thcin«elves,  the 
right  of  <liacovery,  when  followed  up  in  a  reasonable  time 
by  actual  occupation,  is  generally  received  and  admitted, 
witli  more  or  less  flexibility  of  application  to  given  casea,  aeas, 
by  the  civilized  nations  of  Europe,  and  is  incorporated  into  would 
the  municipal,  as  well  as  the  diplomatic,  law  of  the  United  *°^''* 
States. 

And  considering,  therefore,  that  on  this,  and  the  various 
other  grounds  adduced, our  title  to  the  Oregon  Territory  ia 
a  good  one,  sufficiently  so,  as  my  colleague  (Mr.  Adams) 
obiservea,  to  bo  justly  maintained,  if  necessary,  by  force,  I 
proceed  to  state  the  facts  and  considerations  which  seem  to 
me  to  demand  that  the  present  ambiguous  condition  of 
things  in  relation  to  tho  Territory  should  be  ended,  and 
our  sovereignty  therein  reaffirmed  and  established.  Hav- 
ing done  which,  I  shall  confidently  hope  for  the  aid  and 
support  of  my  colleague  in  the  defence  of  the  righta  and 
interest  of  the  United  States. 

Thrcughout  the  vast  interior  regions  of  North  America, 
to  the  West  and  Northwest,  with  its  noble  rivers,  continue 
ous  lakes,  extensive  prairies,  and  lofty  mountain  ranges, 
thcchicfobjt^ctol  commercial  pursuit, it  is  familiarly  known 
to  us  all,  is  the  fur  of  the  wild  animals  with  which  the  coun- 
try abounds ;  constituting  almost  the  sole  marketable  wealth 
of  the  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  scattered  over  those  parti 
of  the  continent.  Wh'Ie  the  French  held  Canada,  down 
to  1763,  tho  trade  with  tho  Indians,  and  the  collection  oi 
peltries,  in  the  immense  countries  beyond  the  great  lakes, 
was  carried  on  partly  by  the  French  Canadians  themselves, 
and  partly  by  their  northern  neighbors,  the  Enclish  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company;  all  which  invaluable  trade,  on  the 
acquisition  of  Canada,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Great  Britain 
Tho  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  not  long  without  a  com- 
petitor in  the  Northwest  Company  of  Montreal,  formed  in 
1787.  Their  competition  of  trade  induced  deadly  feuds, 
fatal  to  their  own  peace  and  prosperity,  while  they  distract- 
ed and  corrupted  the  Indians.  A  new  turn  was  given  to 
the  course  of  events  by  the  travels  of  Sir  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie, and  the  effects  of  his  counsels  after  his  return  to 
England.  A  brief  extract  from  his  book,  published  in 
1801,  will  explain  this  : 

"  Experience  has  proved  that  this  trade,  from  its  very  nature, 
cannot  be  carried  i;n  by  individuals.  A  very  large  capital,  or 
credit,  or  indeed  bulh,  is  necessary  ;  and,  const  quently,  an 
association  of  men  of  wealth  tu  direct,  with  men  of  enterprise 
to  act,  in  one  commun  interest,  must  be  formed  on  such  prin* 
ciplcs  us  tfia't,  in  due  time,  (he  latter  may  succeed  the  former, 
in  continunl  and  progressive  succession.  Tiie  iunction  of  such 
a  commercial  association  with  the  Hudson's  Buy  Company  it 
the  itiiportunt  measure  which  I  would  propose ;  and  the  trade 
might  be  carried  on  with  a  very  superior  degree  of  advantage, 
both  public  and  private,  under  the  privilege  of  their  charter. 
By  enjoying  the  privilege  of  the  company's  charter,  though  but 
for  a  limited  [icriod,  there  are  adventurers  who  would  be  willing, 
as  thoy  are  able,  to  engage  in  and  carry  on  the  proposed  com- 
mercial undertaking,  as  well  as  to  give  the  most  complete  and 
satisfactory  security  to  Government  for  the  fulfilment  of  its 
contract  with  the  Company.  It  would,  at  the  same  time,  be 
equally  necessary  to  add  a  similar  privilege  of  trade  on  the  Co- 
lumbia river,  and  iis  tributary  waters." 

"  By  the  waters  that  discharge  themselves  into  Hudson's  bay, 
at  Fort  Nelson,  it  ia  proposed  to  carry  on  the  trade  to  their  source 
at  the  head  of  the  SasljHtchewine  river,  which  rises  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  not  eight  degrees  of  longitude  from  the  Pacific  ocean. 
The  Columbia  flows  also  from  the  same  mountains,  and  dis- 
charges itself  in  the  Pacific,  in  latitude  46  degrees  20  min. 
Both  of  them  are  capable  of  receiving  ships  at  tlieir  mouths, 
and  are  navigable  throughout  for  boats." 


w 


tho  country  beyond 
have  ^reat  weight  in 
inrceive  that  he  and 
i;e8of  tliat  tille:  for, 
iC  almtruct  justice  of 
luropi'an  Powerl  to 
i  in  the  New  World 

inudt  hnve  been  be- 
icientfultiicsBonthut 
vancu  in  thiBrcBjiect 
by  which  to  adjust 
ion){  ihciniieives,  the 
n  a  reasonable  time 
'iveU  and  adcnitted, 
lion  to  (riven  casei, 

is  incorporated  into 
c,  law  of  the  United 

hit),  and  the  various 
Oregon  Territory  is 
}ague  (Mr.  Adams) 
Rcessary,  by  force,  1 
Lions  which  ueeni  to 
igiious  condition  of 
luld  be  ended,  and 
established.  Uav- 
i|>e  for  the  aid  and 
e  of  the  rights  and 

of  North  America, 
>ble  rivcrd,  continu- 
f  mountain  ran^^es, 
is  familiarly  known 
ith  which  the  coun- 
3  marketable  wealth 
sred  over  those  parti 
lelJ  Canada,  down 
iid  the  collection  of 
tnd  the  great  lako&, 
nadians  themselves, 
the  Enalish  Hud- 
[able  trade,  on  the 
Is  of  Great  Britain 
ong  without  acom- 
lontreal,  formed  in 
uced  deadly  feuds, 
while  they  distract- 
turn  wad  given  to 
ir  Alexander  Mac- 
after  his  return  to 
look,  published  in 

from  ifs  very  nature, 
ery  large  capital,  or 
J,  consequently,  an 
1  men  of  enterprisa 
rmed  on  such  prin* 
succeed  the  former, 
"lie  junction  of  such 
I's  Bay  Company  ia 
pose  ;  and  the  trade 
igree  of  advantage, 
ge  of  their  charter, 
i  charter,  though  but 
ho  would  be  willing, 
the  p.'oposed  corn- 
most  complete  and 
16  fultilment  of  ita 
the  same  time,  be 
of  trade  on  the  Co- 

3  into  Hudson's  bay, 
trade  to  their  source 
li  rises  in  the  Rocky 
U)  the  Pacific  ocean. 
Dountains,  and  dis- 
6  degrees  20  min. 
a  at  their  mouths. 


"  But,  whatever  course  may  be  taken  from  tho  Atlantic,  the 
Columbia  is  the  lino  of  communication  from  the  Pacific  ocean 
pointed  out  by  Nature,  as  it  in  tho  only  navigable  river  in  tho 
whole  extent  of  Vancouver's  minute  survey  of  that  coast.  Its 
bftnkx,  also,  form  tho  first  level  country  in  oil  the  southern  ex- 
tant of  continental  coast  from  Cook's  entry,  and,  consequently, 
the  most  northern  situation  fit  for  colonization,  and  suitable  for 
the  residence  of  a  civilized  people.  By  opening  this  intercourse 
between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  forming  regular 
••tablishmenlB  through  the  interior,  andat  both  extremes,  ns  well 
•i  along  tho  coastd  and  islands,  the  entire  command  of  the  fur 
irade  of  North  America  might  be  obtained  from  latitude  48deg 
north,  to  tho  pole,  except  that  portion  of  it  which  the  Kussians 
have  in  ttio  Pacific  To  this  may  be  added  the  fishery  in  both 
Mas,  and  the  nmrketH  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  Such 
would  be  the  field  fur  commercial  enterprise  :  and  incalculable 
would  bo  the  produce  of  it,  when  supported  by  tho  operationsof 
(hat  credit  and  capital  which  Gteat  Britain  so  pre-eminently 
possesses.  Then  would  this  country  begin  to  bo  remunerated 
ror  tho  expenses  it  has  sustained  in  discovering  and  surveying 
the  coast  of  tho  Pacific  ocean,  which  is  at  present  loll  to  Ameri- 
can adventurers,  who,  without  'regularity  or  capital,  or  tho  de- 
sire of  conciliating  future  confidence,  look  ultogetlier  to  the 
Interest  of  the  moment.  Such  adventurers — and  many  of  them, 
M  I  have  been  informed,  have  been  very  successful — would 
iostantly  disappear  before  a  well-regulated  trade." 

"  Many  political  reasons,  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  enumer- 
ate here,  must  present  themselves  to  the  mind  of  every  man 
acquainted  with  the  enlarged  system  and  capacities  of  British 
commerce,  in  support  of  the  measure  which  1  have  very  briefly 
auggested,  na  promising  the  most  important  advantages  to  the 
trade  of  the  United  Kingdoms." — (Mackenzie's  Trav.,  vol.  2, 
p.  338-02.) 

Meanwhile  the  United  States  acquired  tho  country 
beyond  tho  Rocky  Mountains,  by  discovery,  purchase,  cx- 
idoration,  and  tho  formalities  of  occupation.  Mr.  Astor, 
himself  extcHsively  engaged  in  tho  fur  trade  Bout'.i  and 
itBBt  of  the  Lakes,  became  fully  aware  of  the  great  value 
of  the  Oregon  country,  and  the  importance  ot  a  line  of 
irade  to  be  carried  across  tho  continent,  by  ascending  tho 
fiver  Missouri,  and  descending  the  Columbia  to  the  Paci* 
fie,  and  thence  communicating  directly  with  China;  ond, 
in  the  promotion  at  the  same  time  of  his  own  interests 
and  those  of  the  United  States,  organized  the  establish- 
ment of  Astoria.  The  Northwest  Company  took  the 
Alarm.  They  foresaw  what  would  bo  the  effect  of  this 
•nterpribc,  if  successfully  prosecuted.  They  despatched 
•missaries  of  theirs  to  the  Columbia,  who,  availing  thorn- 
iKlves  of  the  war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  which  fdlowed  in  the  year  after  the  foundation  of 
Astoria,  induced  McDougall,  one  of  the  agents  of  Mr. 
Astor,  to  make  a  fraudulent  sale  of  his  factory,  furs,  and 
Other  property,  to  the  Northwest  Company ;  and  the  sloop 
of  war  Racoon  came  and  took  formal  possession  of  Astoria 
in  the  name  of  Great  Britain,  and  changed  the  name  of 
the  post  to  St.  George.  This  formal  possession,  however, 
Was  an  act  of  war ;  and  was  annulled,  as  I  have  before 
itatcd,  by  the  restoration  of  the  post  to  Mr.  Prcvost  and 
to  Commodore  Biddlc,  in  the  Ontario,  afler  the  conclusion 
of  peace.  But  still  the  Northwest  Company  retained  the 
actual  possession  of  the  country,  under  the  purchase  from 
l^cDougall;  and,  in  1821,  the  Northwest  Company  and 
ttte  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  having  compromised  their 
difTerences,  were  united ;  the  operations  of  the  new  asso- 
ciation being  continued  down  to  this  lime  under  the  char- 
ter of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

This  purchase  from  McDougall,  and  the  possession  un- 
der it,  could,  it  is  evident,  confer  no  sovereignty  on  Great 
Britain  as  again.<>t  the  United  States.  But  tlie  continued 
to'erance  of  the  presence  of  tho  Northwest  Company  there, 
after  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  was  a  capital  error,  impu- 
table to  the  supineness  and  culpable  neglect  of  our  Go- 
vernment. Mr.  Astor  offered  to  renew  his  enterprises  on 
the  Columbia,  provided  the  Government  would  establish 
a  military  post  there,  with  the  most  trifling  force,  even  a 
.  lieutenant's  command ;  needing  only  the  countenance  and 
the  flag  of  the  United  States.  If  his  advice  had  been 
'iidopted^  tho  question  would  have  been  settled  then,  before 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  struck  root  in  the  Terri- 


tory. What  the  actual  result  has  been,  I  will  state  in  the 
words  of  Major  Pilcher.  (Sen.  Doc.  1830-'!,  No.  39.)  It 
has  been  to  realize,  in  all  respects,  tho  plan  marked  out  by 
Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  1801,  for  undermining  our 
influence  and  our  trade  in  and  beyond  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

"  1.  Tho  Hudson's  Bay  and  Northwest  Cmnpanins  have  been 
united,  and  ore  now  trading  under  the  name  and  charter  of  the 
former.  2.  The  trade  has  lioen  extended  to  the  Columbia 
river.  3.  A  colony  of  civilized  people  is  forming  on  that  river. 
4.  A  lino  of  forts  and  posts  is  established  across  tho  continent. 
6.  The  mouth  of  the  Columbia  is  occupied,  ships  enter  it,  boats 
ascend  it,  the  mountains  are  crossed,  and  the  communication  i:i 
regular,  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic,  tj.  American  adven- 
turers have  almost  disappeared,  and  the  Biitish  have  the  com- 
mand of  the  fur  trade  north  of  19  degrees,  ond  tho  chief  enjoy- 
ment of  it  for  some  degrees  snuili. 

"  The  political  odvantages  of  all  these  events  are  considerable 
(to  Great  Britain)  in  time  of  peace,  and  must  become  infinitely 
more  so  in  time  of  war,  when  the  command  of  all  the  North- 
ern Indiana  may  harass  the  settlements  on  the  Uirper  Mis- 
sissippi I  and  the  possession  of  a.  naval  and  viilitary  sta- 
tion and  a  colony  on  the  estuary  of  the  Columbia  rieermay 
lead  to  the  annihilation  of  our  ships  and  commerce  on  the 
Pacific  ocean.^' 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Coinpany,  as  now  organized,  1  pre- 
sent to  the  notice  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  as 
being  in  itself  a  great  foreign  power,  most  injurious  and 
hostile  to  their  rigtits  and  interests.  It  is  to  America  what 
the  East  India  Company  is  to  Asia.  Dean  Tucker  des- 
cribes it  as  one  of  the  corrupt  monopolies  of  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  (Tucker  on  Trade,  p.  G8.)  And  it  is  natural 
enough  that  a  corporation,  born  of  corruption,  should  sub- 
sist by  usurpation.  Though  chartered  for  a  limited  time, 
which  has  long  since  expired,  and  though  never  conflrmed 
by  Parliament,  (Chitty  on  Com.  vol.  1,  p.  679,)  and  so 
existing,  as  a  corporation,  by  sufferance  only,  it  claims  a 
more  than  imperial  sway  as  appurtenant  to  the  grant  of  the 
trade  of  Hudson's  Bay,  commencing  midway  in  the  north- 
eastern coast  of  the  continent,  reaching  from  Labrador 
down  to  near  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  thence  alon^  the 
high  lands  which  divide  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri  from  those  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  so  sweeping 
around  by  the  easterly  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the 
Slave  Lake,  and  back  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic.  (Bou- 
chette's  Brit.  Dom.  vol.  1,  p.  32,  et  seq.)  This  enormous  ter- 
ritory, indeed,  encroaches  directly  on  the  United  States,  for 
the  Company  undertook  to  sell  to  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  a 
large  tract  of  more  than  100,000  square  miles,  the  country 
of  the  Red  River  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  which  is  found  to 
be  cut  off  by  our  boundary.  Not  content  with  which,  the 
Company  has  even  seated  itself  down  as  the  mistress  of 
the  great  valley  of  the  Columbia.  Yet  its  rights  are  limit- 
ed to  the  power  which  its  establishments  give  it,  and  the 
monopoly  which  it  usurps  of  the  trado  of  the  interior, 
overbearing  the  competition  of  private  enterprise. 

I  have  English  authority  to  attest  the  general  character 
of  the  dominion  exercised  by  these  mercantile  sovereigns, 
the  Hudson's  Bay  and  Northwest  Companies.  There  is  a 
work  published  by  a  servant  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, in  1770,  who  styles  it  "  a  baneful  monopoly,"  who 
details  what  he  plainly  calls  its  tyranny  and  its  frauds, 
and  who  says  the  associates  "  have  undoubtedly  forfeited 
every  just  pretension"  to  continue  a  corporation,  "  by  the 
ill  use  they  have  made  of  this  royal  favor."  (Umfreville'n 
Hud.  B.  Com.  p.  98.)  And  what  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany has  been,  we  learn  from  the  friends  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company ;  for  (the  late)  Lord  Selkirk  says  that,  in 
the  wide  range  of  country  occupied  by  their  forts  and  tra- 
ding-posts, they  "  eatabhshed  a  viore  despotic  rule  than 
could  be  found  to  exist  even  in  any  Asiatic  Government," 
(Claims  of  the  Hud.  Bay  Cotn.  p.  39;)  and  we  are  further 
advised  that  "the  intercourse  of  the  Northwest  Company 
with  the  Indians,  ■•■  *  under  the  semblance  and  diaguise  of 
commerce,  is  an  orf:  '  '"^  system  of  rapine."  And  these 
are  the  companies  we  liuffer  to  remain  in  the  intrusive  oc- 
cupation of  the  Oregon,  most  injuriously  to  us  ! 


'■■  V  if. 


^        * 


For  I  liavA  abnndaiit  (iroofi  of  the  incon)|iatil)ility  of  their 
conduct  with  tho  rights  and  peace  of  thr  Uiiitt'd  btateii. 

In  the  Execulivu  Mcnaaijc  of  thu  'Jlid  December,  it  it 
tuld  UD,  in  addition  to  Moait<  utiit.'r  facts . 

"Tho  Hudion'ii  H.iy  C(iiii|i(iny  have  ulioHevernl  depotH,  »itu- 
Blod  on  wutorcniirni'i*,  in  thn  iiitnrior  iil'  (ho  rouiitry  i  iho  prin- 
cipal one  in  ul  Foit  Vuricimvrr,  on  ihc  norihcrii  b  ink  of  tho 
t'uluinbia  river,  qI.oiU  einhly  or  oiio  hundred  miles  from  ill 
njoulh.  It  iii  known,  by  inlorinalion  roorntly  nblnincd,  that  the 
Eiixli^ji  conipiiny  huvc  u  RloriinljDat  on  this  rivur,  mid  thut  they 
have  a  SHW-ruill,  and  iiru  cutiin)(  tinibor  on  liic  teriilory  ciaiuiiul 
by  (he  Uiiiiod  Siaten,  and  ore  ithipping  it  in  conaiderablc  qiiun- 
tities  to  tho  P'ndwicii  lalanda," 

The  Presiucnl  did  not  see  fit  to  communicate  the  parti- 
culars of  tho  "  infoiniation  recently  obtaiiit-d  ;"  but  we 
reach  these  by  tho  memorial  from  Mr.  William  A.  Slacum, 
thu  a({ent  employed  by  the  Government  to  obtain  informa- 
tion concerning; the  settlements  in  the  Orcfroii,  which  me- 
morial was  presented  to  the  Senate  on  the  I8th  Decembei, 
1837,  in  aid  of  a  claim  preferred  by  Mr.  Slacum.  This  do- 
cument exhibits  in  detail  the  farts  tiiat  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  have  a  military  post  on  the  Columbia  ;  that  they 
•upply  munitions  of  war  to  the  Indians;  that  they  seek  to 
alienate  the  Indiana  from  us;  and  thut  they  occupy  tho 
country  as  if  it  were  theirs:  illustrating,  also,  the  great 
value  and  importance  of  that  country,  as  well  tor  itself,  as 
for  its  uses  in  the  trade  of  the  Pacific  seas.  It  exhibits  a 
fact,  also,  which  I  commend  to  the  notice  of  Mr.  O'Con- 
nell,  who  heaps  such  unmeasured  invective  on  the  People 
of  this  country  because  of  the  existence  of  slavery  in  a 
portion  of  the  United  States ;  namely,  that,  while  Great 
Britain  is  applauding  herself  on  the  emancipation  of  the 
African  race  in  her  West  India  Colonies,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  is  introducing  a  new  form  of  slavery  in  the 
Northwest,  by  npplyini;  it  extensively  to  the  American  In- 
diana. That  this  abuse  is  practised  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  cannot  excuse  the  British  Government,  any  more 
than  the'perpet ration  of  similar  and  worse  abuses  in  Asia 
hy  tho  East  India  Company. 

There  is,  in  the  document  before  me,  (Sen.  Doc.  1628-'9, 
No.  67,)  a  great  body  of  evidence  similar  to  that  of  Mnjor 
Pilcher,  which  I  have  quoted,  consisting  of  letters  of  Gen. 
Ashley,  W.  L.  Sublette,  Mr.  Astor,  Gen.  William  Clark, 
Gen.  Cass.  &c.  showing  how  fatal  the  influence  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  to  our  own  free  trade.  I  will 
read  an  extract  from  one  of  these  letters,  (that  of  Mr.  Cam- 
brcleng,)  with  his  consent.  This  totter,  addressed  to  Mr. 
Benton,  and  dated  January  12,  1829,  says  : 

"  I  have  in  my  possession  the  actual  returns  of  the  furs  col- 
lected by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  fur  the  year  1823,  which, 
according  to  a  vnluation  made  by  one  who  has  a  thorough  know- 
ledge of  the  trade,  amount  to  8S94,879  85.  The  shares  of  ihat 
company  have  increased  from  £60,  or  40  per  cent,  below  par, 
to  jC240  sterling,  or  HO  per  cent,  above  par.  The  business  of 
the  company  has  continued  to  increase  at  tlie  rate  of  from  60 
to  $100,000  annually.  The  prosperous  condition  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  may  be  attributed,  iti  some  measure,  to  tho  ad- 
vantages enjoyed  by  the  British  traders,  who  procure  their  ma- 
nufactures without  duty,  while  the  American  traders  pay  40  per 
cent,  und  upwards  ;  and  who  can  send  their  furs  to  the  Ameri- 
can market,  while  our  traders  pay  a  duty  in  tho  British  market. 
But  the  most  important  advantage  enjoyed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  is  the  admirable  harbor  at  liic  mouth  of  thu  Columbia, 
vrhicli  we  virtually  and  unfortunately  granted  them  by  ourtrea- 
ty  of  1818.  That  settlement  atthe  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river 
IS  now  the  centre  of  an  immense  trade  in  furs,  and,  unless  we 
take  some  step  to  place  our  traders  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
British,  and  secure  to  the  former  the  privilege  of  trading  in 
safety  within  our  own  dominions  at  least,  our  Indian  tiade  must 
decline,  and  we  must  make  up  our  minds  to  surrender  the  whole 
Indian  country  to  Groat  Britain." 

This  gri«)vance,  the  injurious  influence  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  upon  our  fur  trade  in  and  about  tho  Rocky 
Mountains,  on  both  sides  of  them,  has  been  earnestly  re- 
presented to  Congress  by  the  Legislature  of  Missouri,  as 
well  as  in  the  communications  of  the  individuals  above 
mentioned.  It  is  fblly  disclosed,  also,  in  Washington  li- 
ving's Astoria.  He  says,  with  particular  reference  to  the 
Oregon  Territory ; 


"  111  our  liondii,  bcaiJa  the  lovinff  bamls  uf  trappers  JompiJ 
trader.'*,  Ihn  country  would  huw^  bcuii  tixplou'd  an  I  Rclllcd  apircf 
industrioUH  liu><banduien  ;  imd  llic  fcri.ili'  viillfv"  lioiilcrii^  siTdiJ 
rivcrH,  iiiKJ  MJiut  up  uinoii^  ilN  niountuiim,  won'd  hiive  bren  '"'nrreiii 
to  pour  forth  their  agricultural  tieunurcs  to  contribute  to  the  K':.-,  ,i| 
irul  weolth.  hiu  is  I 

"  In  riiprct  to  cointncrcc,  wo  should  have  had  a  lino  d  'T'-  ?j  i  '■ 
ii>X  pogtH  from  tho  MittiiRoippi  and  llio  Misnouri  acroniihu  Korl'lUCIi 
Mountuiiis,  loriniiig  a   high-road  from 'he   greiit  region*  of  I'^y '■*! 
Wfstto  tin;  Bhoresof  thu  Pacific.     We  Klioiild  liavc  had  a  fui  lei, 
hed  post  ami  [)nrt  at  the   mouth  of  the  C'olumbiu,  coiiinwindir  aing 
the  tradu  uf  lliil  river  and  its  tributaries,  und  jfii  vvidu  cxiiJoOipal 
of  country  ond  seuroail,  carrying   on   an  active  and  [irolituljlitt,  it  J 
cuintnerco  with  the  Sandwich  Isl.ind.i,  nnd  a  direct  and  frequt'lfgat 
coiniiumication  with  China."— (Astoria,  vol.  2.)  If  thj 

Mr.  Irving  also  justly  condemns  tho  conduct  of  our  Gaave  ad 
vernment  in  leaving  this  matter  so  long  unsettled,  nntrpri8e| 
says :  Arecr 

"  Kvery  year  this  litigated  claim  is  growing  into  importanc.'iUon 
There  i^  no  pride  lo  jeitlousand  irritable  as  the  pridn  of  terrii  ■••OCiaa 
ry.  rts  one  -vavc  jf  emigration  alter  another  rolls  into  tiie  viih*  neil 
region  of  the  Wen,  and  our  settlements  stretch  towards  tl.slM  ml 
Rocky  Mountains,  tho  eager  eyes  of  our  pioneers  will  pry  beh«  CoaJ 
yoiid,  and  they  will  brcoiiio  impatient  of  any  barrier  or  inipediortjessj 
inoiit  in  the  way  of  what  they  consider  a  grond  outlet  of  uui  en.^  tvcrj 
pire.  Should  any  circumstance,  therefore,  unfortunately  occiig|npj^1 
to  disturb  the  present  harmony  of  the  two  nations,  this  ill-aJnj  ^^^gl 
justed  quoslion,  which  now  lies  dormant,  may  suddenly  slatyj^^  A 
upintooneofbelligerant  import,  and  Florida  become  ^be  watrls  J^^j 
word  in  a  contest  for  dominion  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific."-  -. 
(Astoria,  vol.  2.)  «|JJ-j; 

Mr.  Irving  rci-srs  to  the  subject  in  a  later  work  of  h'ojindo^l 
(thenarrative  of  Captain  Bonneville'sexptdition,)  in  whid^^j  je„ 
he  exhibits  the  value  of  the  fur  trade  and  fisheries,  an4[^Q,|jj^| 
the  agricultural  capabilities  of  the  Oregon  Territory;  an>vaters. 
upon  the  political  question  says  :  y^gi  gf 

"  Though  the  [Hudson's  Bay]  Companv,  by  treaty,  have  islands, 
right  to  a  participation  only  in  the  trade  of  these  regions,  [be-jjoode, 
yond  the  Rocky  Mountains,]  and  are,  in         ,  but  tenants  in  suf-,™  I^jJ 
ferance  ;  yet  have  they  quietly  availed  themselves  of  the  origi,^j,,g  ^jj, 
nal  oversight,  and  subsequent  supinencss  of  the  American  Gov-j^jj^jg 
ernmeiit  to  establish  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  river  ['^c.QW.jt  | 
lumbia]  and  its  dependencies ;   and  are  adroitly   P'""'^*^'!'"^  ",„„_♦  j 
fortify  ihcmrelves  in  their  usurpation,  by  securing  all  tho  strong'""  ? 
points  of  the  country.  "**  ^   -^ 

"  Nor  is  it  likely  the  latter  [the  American  traders]  wifl  evef'SOn* 
be  able  to  maintain  any  footing  in  the  land,  until  the  question  oi'»hwe  tii 
territoriol  right  is  adjusted  between  the  two  countries.  Tliciffeet  on 
sorter  that  takes  place,  the  better.  It  is  a  question  too  serious  traeilU  0 
national  pride,  if  not  to  national  interest,  to  bo  slurred  over ;  anciitdiffere 
every  year  is  adding  to  the  difficulties  which  environ  it.  m  to  m 

"The  resources  of  the  country  ♦♦  in  tho  hands  of  America,  eti-nto  tith 
joying  a  direct  trade  with  the  East  Indies,  would  be  brought  in-  gj,  j 
to  quickening  activity,  and  might  soon  realize  the  dream  of  Mi.,gyj„'pg 
Astor,  in  giving  rise  to  a  flourishing  com'uercial  empire."— ^j^j  ^^^^ 
Rocky  Mountains,  tol.  2.)  >h»sical 

The  convention  of  1818  is  any  thing  but  reciprocal  ii^sminent 
its  actual  operation.  Not  only  diil  it  give  the  use  of  thcjerity  a 
river  Columbia  to  Great  Britain,  we  getting  nothing  in  re- and  cat 
turn— not  only  did  it  enable  the  British  traders  to  intro-jerpow 
duce  goods  into  the  interior  of  the  continent  free  of  duty  sation  i 
those  of  our  traders  having  paid  duty,  and  so  to  undersell jueit ; 
U8  in  all  trade  with  the  Indians— but,  in  addition  to  all  and  an 
this,  under  cover  of  the  convention,  the  British  dag  do  WWlst 
minates  over  the  whole  country ;  and  at  Fort  Vancouver,  ient»  h 
about  one  hundred  miles  up  the  river,  is  a  regular  military  >thn  c 
post,  a  fixed  establishment  of  several  hundred  persons  tre  not 
Can  the  U-ited  States  send  and  establish  a  military  post  on  M,.  i 
the  Columbia,  without  giving  notice  of  the  termination  of  ion  of, 
the  convention?  I  suppse  there  may  be  gentlemen  who  t  hat  < 
will  say  we  cannot.  And  yet  Great  Britain  has  done  this,  ["he  oj 
without  giving  notice  to  us.  Am  I  to  be  told  that  the  •onfine 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  has  done  this,  and  not  the  Go-  rappin 
vernment  1  I  reply,  that  the  British  Government  cannot  nto,  if 
antl  shall  not  separate  itself  from  the  acts  of  this  Com-  \^fj  hi 

fany.  That  game  England  played  long  ago  in  the  East  he  Itic 
ndies,  conquering  millions  after  millions  there,  and  throw-  indgca 
ing  all  the  Wame  of  the  fraud  and  violence  by  which  the  ,th||r  v 
conquests  w^re  gained  upon  the  servants  of  the  East  India  ag  iie 


^'Js> 


w 


Imiuls  u(  iruppors  Jompiiny,  and  even  impeaching  them  for  the  plunder  of 
Bxiil.iitcl  an  I  ittiled  nipir,,s  while  sho  condeBCcnded  to  retain  the  empireu  they 
I''  ^ull'-y"  l">nl'•rin^  jj  |y;,j^,,,.j|  It  iM  uHtulo  device.  It  will  no  lonjjer  pass 
,  woiiM  huv9  bien  in.  J      Whatever  thfse  ureat   fnipirc-seckina  corporo- 

•"•'""'"''""""'*'^«'ionido,  theydo,  or  profess  to  do,  under  their  charters ; 

have  had  n  line  o^  uM  '*'  1'^  "'*-'  "r'"'  """""'^Hy.'"  "(/|'?,*lu*'B"rrlm' 
liMo,iriacroi.ithoK.Ml'hlch  they  are  the  cieature..  The  Uud-on  •  Bay  Corn- 
lie  grciit  regions  of  i  '»ny  i<  rich,  strong,  and  rapaciouH,  with  nninenBO  territo- 
oliouid  have  had  a  fm'm,  ond  numcroua  tribci  of  Indiunn  Buhjcct  to  lU  rule ; 
C'olumhiu,  coinnwinditeing  ttiialonoua  in  all  these  renpecti  to  the  Euat  India 
i»,  und  af  !i  widu  cxtiJoBipany,  and  second  only  to  that  in  power ;  and,  like 
III  active  ond  [)rofituii|]at,  it  muat,  for  all  political  purpunes,  bo  considered  as 
id  a  direct  and  I'req.aJignt  Britain. 

>  "^'^  '^)  If  the  Unilfd  States  would  retain  the  independence  they 
10  conduct  of  our  G.iavc  achieved,  they  must  look  well  to  the  coin  nercini  en- 

>  long  unsettled,  nnirprises  of  Oreat  Britain.     Other  nations  have  pursued  a 

arecr  of  comiuest  in  the  undisjjuiHed  nitn  of  military  an>- 
jwing  into  imporlanc.'iUon :  with  her,  it  is  comnicrcial  ambition  supported  by 

ad  ilie  pride  of  terrii«»ciatcd  arts  and  arms.  This  very  question  illustratea 
ndier  rolls  into  tlie  vuJi*  necessity  of  wiilchfulnetts  on  our  part.  The  British 
u  Btrcich  towards  tl,slM  may  be  assimilated  to  great  citadels  and  workshops  on 

pioneers  will  pry  Leha  coast  of  Europe.     The  ships  of  her  navy  arc  floatinu 

any  barrier  or  inipedioriresscs,  with  military  stations  dotting  all  over  the  globe 
grand  outlet  of  oui  eiiiQ  ,very  sea.  She  has  Gibraltar,  Malta,  and  the  Ionian 
re,  unforiiinately  pcci,,|^„j^  for  jhg  Mediterranean  ;  Sierra  Leone,  St.  Helena, 
vo  naiions.  this  .l|.uJ„j  j^e  Cape,  for  Afriua.  With  Nova  Scotia,  New  Bruns- 
1  In  h^^  ^a^^t'll  ^'T"0k,  and  Bermuda,  she  menaces  the  Atlantic  coast  of 
ore,  onhe  Pacific  •-^^«  United  States;  ^ith  Jamaica,  she  flanks  the  Gulf  of 
'  Mexico;  and  by  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  lakes,  she  pe- 
,  t     r  I    wlffttes  into  the   innermost  recesses  of  North  America. 

a  later  work  »>»  hio-iindostan  and  Ceylon  give  to  her  the  control  of  southern 
i;xprUition,)inwhicf^^jgp„jj^,  ^g,j^  gj^^  possesses  the  antarctic  world  of 
e  and  hsheries,  an^^^tj^li^  ^^  Singapore,  she  overlooks  the  Indo-Chinese 
?gon  lerrilory;  uni^^^^g  Lately.sho  has  leaped  across  to  the  Bonin  Islands, 
veil  of  Japan.  She  seeks  the  dominion  of  the  Sandwich 
nvt  by  treaty,  have  -slands,  as  exemplified  in  the  doings  of  Lord  Byron  in  the 
of  these  regions,  [lje3[(mtie,  and  the  more  recent  visit  of  the  Actccon  commanded 


droiity  proceedilft><»We»tbay  andhnrbor  on  the  Pu-inc  coast  of  America ; 
ecuring  all  tho  stronr'^*'  "*  '^'^"^  ^°  **^®  region,  when ,  m  defiance  of  our  rights, 
"ihe  has  already  planted  herself  on  the  waters  of  the  Ore- 
can  traders]  vviFI  evef'gon-     What  effect  is  u!l  '.his  to  have  on  our  all-important 
until  the  question  oi^hale  fisheries  and  other  commerce  in  the  Pacific  1    What 
two  countries.    TlicifTaet  on  the  business  and  the  tranquillity  of  our  settle- 
uestion  too  serious  trnenU  on  the  Missouri  and  the  Arkansas  1     Does  not  our 
bo  slurred  over ;  ancudifference  stimulate  her  cupidity  1      Our  neglect  enable 
;h  environ  it.  i^f  i^  magnify  claims  into  rights,  and  to  convert  intrusion 

lands  of  America,  eu-nto  title  1 

wouJd  be  brou^t  in-    gj,^  j  hon^r  the  Anglo-Norman  race;  its  energy,  perse- 

imerckl  emoire  ''J.'e""ce,  Uve  of  liberty,  courago,  and  civilization ;  its  vigor 

ind  Bteadineiis  of  mind,  its  masculineness  of  moral  and 

ihjsical  organization.     We  are  of  the  same  slock.     Its 

g  but  rfciprocal  iniminent  traits  are  developed  in  our  own  growth  and  pros- 

iye  the  use  of  the )erity  as  colonies  and  as  independent  States.     Lei  Ei.j- 

ting  nothing  in  re- and  carry  her  commerce  into  every  sea,  and  push  forward 

h  traders  to  intro-ier  power,  if  she  will,  in  "  the  gorgeous  Orient."     Civili- 

nent  free  of  duty  sation  accompanies  her  progress   from  conquest  to  con- 

nd  so  to  undersell ^aMt;  and  her  triumphs  are  the  triumphs  of  our  father 

'"tj *.''.''*''''"  *•*  oil  and  and  our  kindred.     But  on  us  she  must  not  encroach. 

British  Hag  do  iVhllRt  our  territorial  expansion  is  restricted  to  this  conti- 

Fort  VancotJiver,  lent,  hers  must  be  excluded  from  it.     There  can  be  no 

1  regular  military  »thet  conditions  of  harmony  between  her  and  us.     We 

lunured  persons  ire  not  suns  that  may  culminate  together  in  the  same  sky. 

a  military  post  on    m,.  Speaker,  thus  far  I  have  discussed  this  as  a  ques- 

ne  termination  ol  \f^  of  commerce,  and  a  question  of  territorial  rights.    But 

gentlemen  who  t  ^^i  other  relations  not  less,  perhaps  more,  important, 

in  has  done  this,  r|,j  operations  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  are  not 

^^  u^  A     'onfined  within  the  Oregon  Territory.     Extending  their 


:h 


le 


and  not  the  Go-  mpping  and  trading  expeditions  as  they  do,  far  eastward, 
yernment  cannot  jiXq^  jf  not  across,  the  mountains,  they  may  continue,  as 
ts  of  this  Com-  hfljr  have  done,  to  furnish  arms  and  hostile  passions  to 
ago  in  the  East  i,,  Indians  of  the  far  West.  Remember,  that  when  the 
here,  and  throw-  (migrated  Indians  shall  be  added  to  the  Pawnees,  and 

"f  C  VI   V    ^  '^''*^  *"^^*  *'^^'^**  region,  there  will  be  60,000  fight- 
of  the  East  India  ag^en  accumulated  togetner  on  the  frontiers  of  Arkan- 


sas and  Miuouri ,  too  many  of  them  with  no  fdendly  feeN 
ings  for  the  Qovernmrnt  of  the  United  States.  Wilt  it  be 
usefiil  and  convenient  to  u»  to  hate  them  backed  fry  the 
po\ccr  and  injluence  of  (ircat  Uiitain  }  To  answer  this 
question,  I  must  rntrcut  the  House  to  c  insider  how  that 
[tower  and  that  influence  aflVct,  and  have  affected,  our  In* 
dian  relations,  as  proved  by  the  records  of  the  country. 

Prom  the  last  message  of  the  President  relative  to  the 
Oregon  Territory,  (that  which  is  now  before  m,)  we  learn 
that  "  no  recent  communication  on  this  subject  has  naised 
between  this  Government  and  any  I' reign  Power,  that 
is  to  say,  none  since  IH'27.  For  more  than  ten  years  the 
question  has  been  allowed  to  slumber.  I  shall  not  indulge 
in  any  ]iari\j  reflections  on  this.  I  wish  to  discuss  the  sub- 
ject as  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States ;  not 
as  a  topic  for  censure  of  the  Administration,  unless  pro- 
voked to  do  it.  But  if  any  reasons,  and  whatever  reasons, 
have  seemed  to  the  Administration  to  justify  this  long  si- 
lence in  the  matter,  the  crisis  to  which  our  Indian  pdic^ 
has  now  arrived  would,  if  nothing  else,  demand  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  instantly  to  resume  the  negotiations,  and  bring 
themlo  a  just  conclusion, 

Sir,  the  facts  to  which  I  am  about  i»  allude  are  discre* 
dilable  to  Great  Britain.  If  my  public  duty  did  not  ro" 
quire  of  me  to  biing  them  before  the  House — ifthegrea^ 
interests  of  the  country  did  not  require  them  to  be  recalled 
to  memory  now — I  would  willingly  pato  them  by  untouch- 
ed. But  the  use  of  the  past  is  to  guide  the  present  and 
warn  the  future.  "  History,"  it  has  been  justly  said,  in 
reference  to  this  subject,  "  history,  and  even  modern  his- 
tory, is  already  sufficiently  fabulous,  without  a  suppressio 
ceri,' which  will  leave  to  jposterity  little  more  than  u  know- 
ledge that  battles  were  fought,  and  kingdoms  won."  It 
would  be  absurd  to  8l'"t  mr  eyes  upon  things  affecting  so 
closely  our  future  peace.  'Vnd  a  time  of  profound  peace, 
ofall  others,  is  the  true  oiu  to  discuss  the  sore  points  in 
the  foreign  relaliona  o*'th>  country. 

In  the  wars  of  th's  continent,  anterior  to  the  Revolution, 
the  Indians  were  freely  employed  us  auxiliaries  by  Great 
Britain  and  by  France.  When  the  Colonies  revolted,  our 
fathers  were  anxious  to  have  tiie  Indians  continue  neu- 
tral ;  hut  Great  Britain  willed  otherwise,  though  the  walls 
of  St.  Stephen's  rang  with  the  eloquent  denunciations  of 
Lord  Chatham,  appealing  to  the  laws  of  morality  and  hu- 
manity in  reprobation  of  tho  policy  of  his  Government. 
Still,  those  were  belligerent  acts;  and  let  them  pass  for  such. 
But  how  was  it  after  the  solemn  conclusion  of  the  treaty 
of  peace  1  Did  Great  Britain  adopt  a  policy  of  peace  1  It 
is  written  in  letters  of  blood  and  fire  upon  every  page  of 
the  annals  of  the  countiy,  that  Great  Britain  did  not  cease 
to  nurture  and  keep  alive  the  hostile  spirit  of  the  Indians 
,  towards  us.  She  continued,  in  violation  of  the  treaty,  to 
hold  the  military  posts  along  the  northern  line  of  the  Unit- 
ed States,  from  Lake  Champb.in  to  Lake  Michigan,  for 
years.  The  most  important,  those  of  Oswego,  Niagara, 
Detroit,  Michilimackinac,  and  Fort  Miami,  were  not 
delivered  until  1796,  thirteen  years  after  the  treaty  of 
peace;  and  this  only  by  virtue  of  an  express  article  of  the 
new  treaty  of  19th  November,  1794,  (Jay's.)  Doubtless, 
England  looked  still  to  the  recovery  of  the  Colonies,  or  a 
part  of  them,  anticipating,  perhaps,  civil  war  among  our- 
selves, or  some  other  contingency  favorable  to  her  views. 
In  pursuance  of  which,  availing  herself  of  her  posts  in  the 
Indian  country,  and  through  the  instrumentality  of  traders 
and  others,  she  instigated  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest  to 
make  war  against  us,  and  to  demand  the  river  Ohio  as  a 
perpetual  boundary  to  divide  the  United  States  from  the 
Northwestern  Indiana.  Hence,  from  the  close  of  the  Re- 
volutionary war  to  the  signal  defeat  of  the  Indians  by  Gen. 
Wayne,  there  was  perpetual  hostility  between  them  and 
the  United  States,  cnequered  by  all  the  usual  incidents  of 
savage  warfare,  as  the  burning  of  house?,  andthe  massa- 
cre of  women  and  children,  not  forgetting  the  defeat  of  Har- 
mar  and  of  St.  Clair.  The  stale  of  things  is  described  in 
a  work  of  authority  before  me  : 

"  From  1783  to  1790,  not  less  than  three  thousand  persons 
were  murdered  or  dragged  into  captivity  from  the  frontiers  of 


TT 


*% 


*i 


i» 


'  I^ABiuiylTania,  Virginia,  and  Kentucky.  The  acalps  and  the 
pritonara  travelled  the  old  war-patba.  The  British  Indian  De- 
partment was  numerous  and  active.  A  personal  inspection  was 
UMida  by  Lieutenbnt-Governor  Hunter,  and  a  fort  was  com- 
menced on  the  Miami.  The  hopes  ef  the  Indians  were  elated 
by  the  celebrated  war-talk  of  Lord  Dorchester.  Profuse  issues 
of  clothing,  provisions,  and  ammunition  were  made  to  them. 
Several  intercepted  letters  of  British  officers  were  published, 
which  leave  no  doubtof  the  influence  exerted  upon  the  Indians. 
Gen.  Wayne,  in  his  official  report,  states  that  '  he  had  obtained  a 
victory  over  the  combined  force  of  the  hostile  Indiana  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  volunteers  and  militia  of  Detroit,'  (then 
occupied  and  held  by  Canadians.)  And  this,  too,  in  a  time  of 
profound  peace  between  the  American  and  British  Govern- 
menu."— (N.  A.  Rev.  vol.  24,  p.  380) 

Nay,  BO  flagrant  was  the  conduct  of  Great  Britain,  that 
Wayne's  victory,  and  nothing  else,  it  would  seem,  pre- 
served u  from  war  with  her ;  for  immediately  ui  on  the 
news  of  that  victory  reaching  London,  and  not  before,  was 
Jay'o  treaty  signed. 

Eighteen  years  of  nominal  peace  followed ;  during  which 
time  Great  Britain  continued  to  keep  the  Indians  of  the 
Northwest  under  war-pa^.  The  fact  is  referred  to  by 
Mackenzie,  in  1801,  as  if  it  were  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
things.  Speaking  of  the  British  post  on  the  island  of  St. 
Joseph,  he  says : 

"It  is  a  place  of  no  trade,  and  the  greater  part,  if  not  the 
whole,  of  the  Indians,  come  here  for  no  other  purpose  but  to 
receive  the  presents  which  our  [the  British]  Government 
allows  them.  They  are  from  the  American  territory,  &c. 
—His.  Pur  Trade,  p.  45. 

Complaints,  however,  of  the  interference  of  England 
continually  occurred  in  the  United  States,  particularly  in 
1804  and  1807 ;  occasioned  by  the  conduct  of  British  tra- 
ders and  emissaries  on  the  Lakes,  the  Miami,  the  Illinois, 
the  Wisconsin,  and  the  Upper  Mississippi,  This  conduct 
had  reference  partly  to  trade,  and  partly  to  war.  To  se- 
cure a  monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade,  the  British  traders 
spared  no  pains  to  embitter  the  minds  of  the  Indians  against 
the  United  States.  And  in  long  anticipation  of  hostilities, 
the  Indians  were  bribed  with  presents,  and  supplied  with 
arms  and  munitions  of  war,  to  have  them  in  readiness  to 
strike  our  frontier  settlements  at  a  moment's  warning. 
Hence  the  Tecumseh  war  of  1811,  instigated  by  Great 
Britain,  in  which  the  gallant  Gen.  Harrison,  in  command 
of  the  militia  and  other  forces  of  the  United  States,  and 
Col.  Johnson,  with  the  mounted  troops  of  Kentucky, 
cained  their  laurels.  All  the  histories  of  that  period, 
McAfTee,  Dawson,  and  the  rest,  are  full  of  the  subject. 
And,  in  the  years  that  followed,  the  barbarities  perpetrated 
in  the  TTortuwcst  by  the  Indian  allies  of  Great  Britain, 
under  the  immediate  eye  of  her  officers,  such  as  Proctor 
and  others,  will  tarnish  the  honor  of  the  British  name  in- 
delibly and  forever. 

When  the  commissioners  of  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  assembled  at  Ghent  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of 
peace,  at  the  very  first  interview,  the  British  commission- 
er brought  forward  as  a  sine  qua  non,  that  the  Indian  al- 
lies of  Great  Britain,  who  had  deserved  so  well  of  her, 
should  be  included  in  the  pacification,  and  that  a  boun- 
dary be  settled  between  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Indians 
and  the  United  States,  Who  were  these  Indian  allies  of 
Great  Britain?  They  were  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  as  defined  by  the  treaty  of  Paris.  What 
woulu  have  been  the  efTect  of  a  boundary  for  them,  stipu- 
lated in  the  proposed  treaty  of  peace  1  To  place,  within 
the  limits  of  the  Uni.ed  States,  a  body  of  Indians,  having 
determinate  possessions,  open  to  Great  Britain,  and  held 
under  her  guaranty  and  protection ;  that  is,  to  cede,  lor 
all  practicalpurposeB,  to  Groat  Britain,  the  whole  of  the 
United  States  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  and  Missouri, 
That  such  was  the  object  of  Great  Britain  at  that  time, 
though  not  openly  professed  by  the  commissioners,  is  prov- 
ed by  Mr.  Atchesjn's  Compressed  View  of  the  Points  to 
be  discussed  in  treating  witn  the  United  States ;  sugges- 
tions derived  from  which  work  came  up  constantly  in  va- 
rious branches  of  the  negotiation  of  Ghent. 


"  The  next  im  portant  point  to  be  attended  to  in  a  treaty  of  pi'     ' 
with  the  United  States  is  a  new  boundary  for  the  Indians.     |,.| 

"  The  boundary  line  which  appears  best  for  the  protectin  .uF 
Indian  rights,  and  which  would  add  to  the  security  of  Can|iuJ 
would  be  to  run  a  line  from  Sandusky,  on  Lake  Erie,  to;.  ^ 
nearest  waters  falling  into  the  Ohio;  then  down  that  nveriigiy] 
up  the  Mississippi,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri ;  thence  up|,.r 
Missouri  to  its  principal  source,  confining  the  IJnited  Stai^^g 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  their  western  boundary,  and  excliir 
them  from  all  the  country  to  the  northward  and  westward  o^ 
lines  here  designated,  which,  from  those  lines  to  that  ^^ifglj 
should  be  agreed  on  as  the  British  boundary  of  Canada,  sli  ^^ 
remain  wholly  for  the  Indians  as  their  hunting  grounds,  ^gj 
boundary  between  the  United  States  and  the  Indians,  as  f  _g1 
by  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  before  alluded  to,  would  p(^r^«||[(^ 
answer  as  the  new  boundary  line  for  the  protection  of  the  Ind(|^« 
if  extended  so  as  to  run  up  the  Missouri  and  to  the  Rocky  Mi<[^£g1 
tains,  provided  that  all  the  reservations  and  conditions  in  \  ^^ 
treaty  relative  to  the  various  tracts  of  ground  within  that  i«iitii| 
for  the  advantage  of  the  United  States,  and  all  theother^^g 
ditions  attached  to  them  by  it,  be  wholly  done  away,  andain  I 
American  Government  (and  probably  also  reciprocally  theb^t^ 
tisli)  excluded  from  having  any  forts,  military  posts,  territf  fgg(^ 
jurisdiction,  or  public  property  of  any  kind,  within  the  In^gj 
line :  but  the  bona  fide  property  of  white  people,  in  lands  w^  ^l 
in  that  boundary,  where  the  Indian  titles  shall  have  been  fi|ont  ^ 
extinguished  previous  to  a  new  treaty  with  America,  might  ott*!, 
haps  be  safely  allowed  under  the  territorial  jurisdictioi^ie,  of 
Great  Britain.  rm," 

"  This  would  of  course  obviate  the  necessity  of  any  feservja^^t 
as  to  the  right  of  the  British  to  carry  on  trade  with  the  Indi    *^ 
whose  independence  being  thus  established,  they  would  b 
t!ie  right  to  admit  or  interdict  whom  they  please;  and  we  ^  J**** 
know  to  whoin  they  would,  both  from  inclination  and  inter*^ ,•■* 
give  the  preference.     This  is  the  more  desirable,  as  the  infUO  l( 
course  with  the  Indians  of  that  quarter  by  the  I3ritisb,  biion  ti 
carried  on  by  permission,  as  it  were,  of  a  jealous  andhostilel  to  « 
tion,  has  been  the  fruitful  source    of  innumerable  exactiiele: 
continued  disputes,  and  incessant  broils.  :  gjg  ] 

"  For  men  whose  friendship  has  been  recently  shown  to  I  mMm 
such  great  importance  to  us,  we  cannot  do  too  much.  We  fiti:{f  ^^r 
see  ail  their  wrongs  redressed,  their  territory  restored  to  th  territ 
and  themselves  rendered  forever  secure  from  American  vrert  a 
croachment.  But  the  independence  of  the  Indians  canno:^  ^m- 
effectually  preserved  by  the  articles  of  any  treaty  which  sy  any 
provide  security  for  Indian  territory  or  Indian  rights,  uni)  pnae 
what  is  indispensable  for  their  due  execution.  Great  Bri:.*^^ 
become  the  avowed  guarantee  and  protector  of  those  rif^^^ 
and  that  territory y  so  as  to  have  both  the  right  and  the  po*^*"®' 
of  instant  interference,  in  case  of  any  encroachment  oi  vi'^PK  ' 
tion,  and  not,  as  hitherto,  be  a  silent  spectator  of  wrongs  :  Ollt-C( 
injustice,  more  immedittely  injurious  to  the  aborigines,  olutfit 
eventually  as  ruinous  to  the  security  of  the  Canadas." — (Fndad  1 
phloteer,  vol.  5,  p.  Il6.)  the  g 

Such  was  the  plan,  in  execution  of  which  the  Brf*  ** 
commissioners  proposed  to  give  a  fixed  boundary  to  •*??' 
Indians,  with  a  guaranty  in  effect  of  their  indepcnaem'*"'8  . 
the  United  States,  and  even  a  stipulation  forbidding  ii^'^'l,' 
treat  for  their  lands  ;  a  plan,  as  developed  by  Mr.  Atc^^l 
son,  covering  a  large  part  of  Ohio  and  Missouri,  anil  "^^^ 
whole  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  ^nJ  JjfjL'^, 
wa,  as  well  as  Oregon.  lunlai 

These  propositions  of  the  British  commissioners  "JISSl 
steadily  and  unanimously  resisted  by  the  American  ii*_^. 


missioners,  from  whose  communications  I 
following  passages,  for  consideration  hereafter  : 


transcribe  Ij^Jj?' 


iT.lf 


"  No  maxim  of  public  law  has  hitherto  been  more  univer^Utlin 
f^stablishcd  among  the  Powers  of  Europe  possessing  terrime  tenri 
in  America,  and  there  is  none  to  which  Great  Britain  has  ni/^Jiy 
uniformly  and  inflexibly  adhered,  than  thut  of  sufl'ering  dom^  ^ 
terposition  of  a  foreign  Power  in  the  relations  between  tlie:^  „  | 
knowledged  sovereign  of  thi;  territory  and  the  Indians  situeJ  l.u 
upon  it.  Without  the  admission  of  this  principle,  there  wc.  . 
be  no  intelligible  meaning  attached  to  stipulations,  establJEli  , 

boundaries  between  the  dominions  in  America  of  civilized  t*  ^^ 
tions,  possessing  territories  inhabited  by  Indian  tribes."       ^^v' 

♦  ♦  "  The  Indians  residing  within  the  limits  of  the  ^'"',]59*' 
States  *  *  are  so  far  dependent,  as  not  to  have  the  right  uMyi 
dispose  of  their  lands  to  any  private  persons,  nor  to  any  Po<  .Mlt' 
other  than  the  United  States,  and  to  be  under  their  piotecu  'MA 
alone,  and  not  under  that  of  any  other  Power.     Whether  cul! 


.  J  J ,  .  .  ,  .  teti.  or  by  whaterer  n&m*  deugnaud,  iucL  is  the  rekuon 
tended  to  ID  a  treaty  of  p,^^'  ^^^^^  a„j  jje  United  States.  •  ♦  These  principle* 
ndary  for  the  Indians.  |,.j„  uniformly  recognised  by  the  Indian*  themseWes  ♦  ♦ 
irs  best  for  the  protecti^'^g  ,  »  treaties  between  them  and  the  United  Stales. 

to  the  secuntyof  Canjuii  United  States  cannot  consent  that  Indiana  leeiding 
leky,  on  Lake  Erie,  toj^j^gj^  boundaries  as  acknowledged  by  Great  Britain  shall 
;  then  down  that  river„p|„<jea  in  the  treaty  of  peace  in  any  manner  which  will  re- 
he  MlsBouii  J  thence  Uf  j,,  ^g^i  as  independent  nations,  whom  Great  Britain,  hav- 
nfiningthe  United  Stat^|^„gj  ^^^■^g  recognition,  would  hereafter  have  the  right  to 
5rn  boundary,  and  excliiyi^^  i„  every  respect,  as  such.  Thus  to  recogniae  those 
thward  and  westward  c^i  as  independent  and  sovereign  nations  would  take  from 

those  linos  to  that  ^oSted  Stales  and  transfer  to  those  Indians  all  the  righu  of 
boundary  of  Canada,  sh -jifl  sovereignty  over  the  territory  which  they  inhabit; 
leir  hunting  grounds,  jj,^  ^eing  accomplished  through  the  agency  of  Great  Bri- 
es  and  the  Indians,  as  f^  np,uld  place  thera  effectually  and  exclusively  under  her 

alluded  to,  would  pcr^^n  instead  of  being,  as  heretofore,  under  that  of  the 
the  protection  of  the  Ind^i^pStates. 

ouri  and  to  the  Rocky  Mi-Hj^  United  States  claim,  of  right,  with  respect  to  all  Euro- 
■ona  and  conditions  in^  jSations,  and  particularly  with  respect  to  Great  Britain, 
of  ground  within  that  iagtire  sovereignty  over  the  whole  territory,  and  all  the  per- 
ates,  and  all  the  other (^  unbraced  •.vithiii  the  uoundaries  of  thsir  dominions ;  Great 
cholly  done  away,  andaiq  has  no  right  to  take  cognizance  of  the  relation  subsist- 
ly  also  reciprocally  the  tj^Dreen  the  several  communities  or  persons  living  therein ; 
is,  military  posts,  terrii/  tmm,  as  to  her,  only  parts  of  the  dominion  of  the  United 
iny  kind,  within  the  In«i^|  and  it  is  altogether  immaterial  tvhether,  or  how  far, 
white  people,  in  lands  var  their  political  institutions  or  policy,  these  communities  or 
titles  shall  have  been  fi|onc  are  independent  States,  allies,  or  subjects.  With  re- 
y  with  America,  might  jjt  16  her,  and  all  other  foreign  nations,  they  are  parts  of  a 
J  territorial  jurisdictioi,ie  ©f  whioh  the  United  States  are  sole  and  absolute  sove- 

necessity  of  any  reservaj^-ji  ^gu^enta  were  unanswered  and  unanswerable. 
LTliSed.  Sy  turn*  «"'»h  commiseionerB.  were,  obliged  to  give  up  their 
they  please;  and  we  fW«.™on., 


y 


us 


n 


and  content  themselves  with  a  stipulation 
)m  inclination  and  intei*  '•«h  party  would  restore  peace  among  the  Indians 
nore  desirable,  as  the  inWo  Us  juriBdiction.  This,  of  course,  was  an  agreemetit 
jrter  by  the  British,  bfioh  the  United  Stales  willingly  entered  into.  In  addi- 
,of  a  jealous  andhostilei  to  which,  our  commissioners  proposed  the  following 
of  innumerable  exactiiele: 
"•'s*  '•  His  Britannic  Majesty  and  the  United  States  shall,  by  all 

een  recently  shown  to  t  oMgns  in  tlieir  power,  restrain  the  Indians  living  within 
lot  do  too  much.  We  ejI%  i^pective  dominions  from  commiuing  hostilities  against 
:  territory  restored  to  ili  tsrritory,  citizens,  or  subjecte  of  the  other  party.  And  both 
lecure  from  American  ^4„  also  agree,  and  mutually  pledge  themselves,  if  at  any 
B  of  the  Indians  cannoia  imr  should  unhappily  break  out  betwe'i  them,  not  to  em- 
of  any  treaty  which  sy  agy  Indians,  nor  to  admit  of  their  aid  and  co-operation,  in 

or  Indian  rights,  unli  pi^pecution  of  the  war  against  the  other  parly." 
xecution,  Great  Brxu--'  i    •     ii  •••      i  i«ru-  u  .u    n  •»■  u 

protector  of  //tosen(*W'°"»>*'^""'^^'«P'"P''?"'""'  Which  the  British  com- 
th  the  right  and  the  pcT^o",  without  venturing  to  discuss  it,  rejected  by 
encroachment  oi  T|i«H!NI  (Against  the  article  in  the  projet  of  trea'y  presented 
spectator  of  wrongs  ^  OOCCOinmissioners  the  word  "  inadmissible."  We  must 
3  to  the  aborigines,  obwity  suppose  that  hostility  to  the  United  States  has 
of  the  Canadas."— (Ffiilad  the  eyes  of  Great  Britain,  from  that  time  to  this, 
iho  gross  inconsi.<slency  of  her  conduct  in  this  mtilter. 
of  which  the  Bri:'^  ''**  g^''^'^^  j*^^^  applause  in  Europe  by  her  exertions 
fi.Ted  boundary  to  'Oppress  the  slave-trade,  through  her  own  laws  and 
of  their  indepcntiemf «»«»».  negotiations  with  foreign  Powers.     Did  not  the 
Lulation  forbidding  u.flWP"nc'Pl!«  of.  humanity  require  of  her  to  relinquish 
'veloped  by  Mr  Ate'  "•"*'  '^  "^'S"^  '*  *^'^^  ^^>  '"  bound  on  the  savages  of 
and  Missouri  and  "S*'*^*  against  its  Christian  and  civilized  inhabitants  1  It 
an  Wisconsin  and  '''V"^^'^  *o  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as  a 
'  '        BMn  of  neutrality,  if  we  do  not,  of  our  own  motion,  by 

h  commissioners  Tv^l^'y  !,»«^- /"'I  ^^'''^""^  '»">'  express  treaty  stipulation 
by  the  American  .^^  »'  f  "^  restrain  our  people  from  crossing  the    ?;•«». 
«;«na  f  «,»n.,...:k„  >WPi  and  bearing  arms  into  Canada.     And  yet  Great 
tiona  1  transcribe  jaIs  _  r      j  •    .      .•       .  i  l    •      i-    .• 

n  hereafter  ■  'ittHI  refused,  in  treating,  to  promise,  and,  by  implication, 

17,11  she  please,  decline,  to  restrain  the  Indians  living 
to  been  mure  univer<iittua  her  dominions  from  invading,  tomahawk  in  hand, 
ope  possessing  territory  Mfritory  or  citizens  of  the  United  States ! 
Great  Britain  has  r^Yf^j  diij  Great  Britain  repudiate  an  agreement  so  equi- 
that  of  enflering  Dotjj^  „  between  the  two  nations,  so  philanthropic  in  princi- 
■•elationsbetweenthe,^tjul    benevolent  towards  the  Indians  themselves  1 
«"  nH„!:tni«  TAo  «>•  W»tory  of  her  cond-ict  towards  us  during  and  after 

sti'iSns',  e'mbli>~r  f.<;»^«  "'^  °/,l,]l^'/"'^*"L*"°  .!*"'*  ^^^iov^l  to 
merica  of  civilized  *  •"<"  of  the  vyar  of  1812,  furnishes  the  answer.  And 
y  Indian  tribes."  '^  *^^^  transpired  since  the  peace  of  1814,  corresponds 
be  limits  of  the  Uiii.  '^t  happened  after  the  peace  of  1183.  To  refuse  ex- 
ot  to  have  the  right i|M^,  as  Great  Britain  did  at  Ghent,  to  aj^ree  mutually 
rsons,  nor  to  any  Poir  flkrain  the  Indians,  vrs,  in  spirit,  a  thing  esscntial- 
e  under  their  protecu  ^||piendly  to  us.  And  though  she  did  not  succeed  in 
owcr.     Whether  calli 


expressly  withdrawing  from  our  Mverei(;nty  the  InditM 
of  the  if nited  States,  and  placing  them  under  the  gMtr* 
anty  and  protection  of  herself,  yet  she  has  in  part  attaiaad 
the  same  object,  by  indirect  means,  through  the  negUgenca 
of  the  United  States. 

During  the  several  years  immediately  consequent  on  tha 
war,  we  trace  the  hand  of  British  traders  crd  agents  oo 
various  occasions  amonc  the  Indians  of  the  Soutn.  The 
Creeks  made  a  formal  claim  of  her  protection.  bShe  had 
easy  access  to  the  Southern  tribes  through  Florida.  (Am. 
St.  Pap.  For.  Rel.  vol.  4,  p.  552 ;  Ind.  Aff.  vol.  2,  p.  156.) 
In  explaining  to  Lord  Castlereagh  the  execution  of  At • 
buthnot  and  Ambrister,  Mr.  Rush  said,  with  uiuuuwer< 
able  truth : 

"My  Government,  resting  upon  sufficient  proofs,  was  satisfied 
that  our  Indian  wars  generally,  with  the  massacres  on  the 
frontier,  always  their  preludes,  had  originated  in  one  and  the 
same  cause.  That  they  had  beenprodiiced  by  British  trad- 
ers intruding  themselves,  with  evil  intentions,  among  tht 
Indians." — (.Rush'b  London,  p.  104.) 

Happily  the  acquisition  of  Florida  by  the  United  Statea 
shut  out  the  influence  of  Great  Britain  as  well  as  Spain 
from  those  Indians.  Suppose  it  had  been  otherwise;  sup< 
pose  the  English  trader  to  have  had  free  access  to  the 
Southern  Indians  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years ;  sup- 
pose her  to  liavc  held  possession  of  Florida,  so  as  to  be  at 
the  very  back  of  the  Indians,  supplying  them  with  arms 
and  ammunition,  and  with  incentives  of  ill-will  towards 
us,  would  not  the  presence  and  intrigues  of  her  traders 
there  have  been  fatally  injurious  to  the  peace  and  welfare 
of  the  United  States  on  that  side  1 

Well,  the  same  influences  which  we  have  rid  ourselves 
of  in  that  quarter  by  the  acquisition  of  Florida,  and  th« 
scaling  up  of  the  Indiancountry  of  the  South  hermetically 
against  foreign  Powers,  those  very  same  prejudicial  in< 
fluences  are  to  this  day  exerted  against  us  in  the  North- 
west. 

To  prove  this,  I  have  a  great  mass  of  evidence,  from 
which  I  select,  in  the  lirat  place,  a  joint  letter  of  General 
William  Clark  and  Gen.  Casa,  who,  after  describing  the 
untiring  eflbrta  of  British  traders  near  to  and  even  within 
our  limits,  to  maintain  and  acquire  influence  over  the  In- 
dians of  the  United  States,  proceed  thus  : 

"  It  is  certainly  not  uncharitable  to  suppose  that  the  preaer- 
vation  of  this  influence  is  important  to  the  British  Canadian  au- 
thorities. No  other  motive  can  be  rationally  assigned  for  the 
large  distribution  of  goods  which  is  annually  made  at  Amherst- 
burgh  ai.d  Drummond's  Inland  to  the  Indians  living  within  our 
jurisdiction.  We  have  not  the  means  of  ascertaining  the  num- 
ber of  Indians  who  visit  these  places,  nor  the  value  of  the  goods 
which  are  given  to  them  ;  but  we  believe  that  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi  annually  resort  there 
for  presents  ;  and  about  sixteen  months  since,  one  of  us  actual- 
ly saw  160  canoes  at  one  time  crossing  the  western  extremity 
of  Lake  Huron  to  Drummond's  Island.  E^ch  man  receives  a 
blanket,  shirt,  legging,  and  breech-cloth,  and  each  woman  a 
blanket,  stroud,  dnd  leggins.  Tu  the  children  similar  articles 
are  given;  and  ammunition,  guns,  and  kettles,  and  other 
things,  are  freely  distributed.  The  tribes  who  principally  make 
this  annual  pilgrimage  are  the  Oltawas,  Pottawatamies,  Chippe- 
was,  Wyandots,  Shn^vnees,  Miamies,  Menominies,  Winneba- 
Sacs  and  Fo  s.  Of  these  the  four  last  tribes  reside 
west  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  extend  to  the  Mississippi  and  be- 
yond it. 

*  *  It  is  no  part  of  our  duty  to  investigate  the  right  which 
a  foreign  Power  has  of  thus  subsidizing,  in  cfTect,  a  budy  ofuen 
living  within  our  territories,  but  we  have  no  hesitation  in  say- 
ing that  its  practical  operation  is  seriously  injurious.  *  *  The 
Indians  are  kept  in  a  state  of  excitement,  they  are  taught  to 
look  to  a  foreign  Government  for  advice  and  protection,  and, 
above  all,  they  believe  that  present  benefits  on  the  one  side 
must  be  repaid  by  future  services  on  the  other."  (Sen.  Doc. 
1823-'9,  No.67.) 

These  views  are  confirmed  by  the  m<'norial  of  the  Le- 
gislature of  Missouri,  in  182!),  (Senate  Doc.  1828-'9, 
No.  52 ;)  by  a  report  on  it,  made  in  the  Senate  the  same 
year,  (ibid.  No.  67,)  and  by  a  variety  of  specific  fliets 
which  appear  in  the  documents  appended  thereto.  Amon(( 
these,  are  the  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition,  by  tho 


1 


1 


>i4 


n 


:•  HudaAn's  ]Bay  Company,  to  the  Blackfoot  and  other  prcda- 
'  tory  tribes ;  and  the  attack  on  the  Santa  Fe  caravan  by  In- 
dians armed  from  the  same  source ;  it  being  stated,  also, 
in  the  report,  that  "  the  loss  of  lives  by  Indian  hostility, 
believed  to  be  instigated  by  British  traders,  is  computed  at 
500  men,  for  the  last  tvrenty  years,  on  the  upper  waters  of 
the  Missouri,  and  in  or  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains." 
And  the  report  indicates,  as  the  primary  remedy  for  these 
evils, "  the  exclusion  of  all  British  traders  from  our  [Indian] 
territories;"  and.  "that  the  project  of  a  joint  occupancy  by 
the  BritishandAmericanSjOf  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  ought  to  be  abandoned,  and  a  line  of  demarca- 
tion amicably  established,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  " 
Which  is  the  very  point  to  which  I  arrive. 

And  these  evils  are  not'confined  to  the  western  frontier 
of  Arkansas  and  Missouri,  though  rendered  particularly 
serious  in  that  quarter  at  present,  by  the  location  of  the 
emigrated  Indians  there.  The  injurious  influence  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  pervades  the  entire  Northwest.  In 
a  letter  of  Mr.  Schoolcrafl  to  the  Indian  Department,  of 
13th  February,  1832,  written  from  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
I  find  it  stated  that  the  control  of  the  company  over  the 
Indians  is  "  irrespective  of  an  imaginary  territorial  line." 
And  so  it  has  continued  down  to  the  present  time.  I  had 
occasion  to  cite  the  proofs  of  this,  in  remarks,  made  some 
time  since  in  this  Housq,  on  another  question  ;  and  that 
the  view  of  the  subject  which  I  now  present  may  be  com- 
plete in  itself,  I  must  repeat  the  citations  1  then  made  from 
the  public  documents.    (Exec.  Doc.  1837-8,  No.  2.) 

Mr.  Schoolcrafl,  superintendentof  the  Indians  of  Michi- 
gan, reports: 

"  10.  Visits  of  the  lake  tribes  to  the  Canadas, — In  closing 
this  report,  I  take  the  liberty  of  calling  the  attention  of  the  De- 
partment to  this  subject.  Not  only  are  time  and  health  wasted 
by  numbers  of  the  tribes,  in  performing  these  annual  visits  to 
the  principal  summer  stations  of  the  Indian  Department  of  a  for- 
eign Government,  but  the  visits  and  circumstances  attending 
them  are  calculated  to  foster  sentiments  of  hostility  lo  the  United 
States  in  the  Indian  mind.  The  generation  is  yet  living  who 
opposed  our  arms,  as  allies  of  the  Canadian  forces  during  the 
late  war;  and  the  very  reason  fur  assembling  them,  and  issuing 
presents  as  an  annual  stipend,  is  based  un  a  remuneration  for 
service  and  losses  incurred  by  them  during  the  war.  But  is 
such  a  course  compatible  with  the  princi|)los  of  amity  existing 
between  the  two  Governments?" 

Mr.  Fulkcrson,  sub-agent  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  says  : 

*'  The  Assinaboines,  Crees,  and  the  Gros  Ventres  of  the 
Prairie,  roam  in  pursuit  of  game  over  the  vast  plains  extending 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  to  Lake  Winnipeg  and  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi.  A  portion  of  their  trade  is  carried 
on  with  the  traders  at  Fort  Union,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow- 
Stone  ;  but  much  the  greater  part  of  their  trade  is  done  wi».h  the 
British  traders  on  north  Red  river,  whicli  empties  into  Luke 
Winnipeg.  Many  picsents  are  given  them  by  the  British 
traders  and  Government,  and  much  pains  taken  to  conciliate 
their  friendship,  and  to  secure  a  monopoly  of  their  trade.  The 
consequence  is,  that  they  consider  themselves  much  more  close- 
ly allied  to  the  Bi'if.ish  traders  and  Government  than  to  the  Amer- 
ican. This  operates  powerfully  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Amer- 
ican traders  at  the  present  time,  whom  it  ought  to  be  the  policy 
of  Government  to  foster  and  protect,  and  may,  in  some  future 
w&rtf,  be  attended  with  the  most  fatal  and  disastrous  conse- 
quences." 

Lord  Glenelg,  in  a  desnatch  addressed  to  the  Earl  of 
Gjssford  and  Sir  F.  Head,  of  14th  January,  1836,  says  : 

"The  annual  expenditure  incurred  by  this  country  [Great 
Britain]  on  account  of  Indians  in  Upper  and  Lower  (Junnda 
h«8  been  limited,  since  the  year  1830,  to  £20,000  ;  of  this  sum, 
JC15,850  has  been  considered  applicable  to  the  purchase  of 
presents,  and  £4,150  to  the  pay  and  pensions  of  the  Indian 
Department. 

"Deferring,  for  the  present,  any  observation  on  this  latter 
branch  of  expenditure,  I  feel  bound,  after  n)uch  consideration, 
to  express  my  opinion,  that  the  time  has  not  yet  arrived,  at 
which  it  would  be  possible,  consistently  with  good  faith,  alto- 
gether to  discontinue  the  annual  presents  to  the  Indians.  It 
appears  that,  although  no  formal  obligations  can  be  cited  fur 
such  issues,  there  is  yei  ample  evidence  that  on  every  occa- 
sion when  this  country  has   been  engaged  in  war  on  the 


North  American  continent,  the  co-operation  of  the  7;i  United 
tribes  has  been  anxiously  sought,  and  has  been  obta^  •rtic 
This  was  particularly  the  case  in  the  years  1777  and  liat  Brit 
and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is  from  these  pe-rcourse 
respectively  that  the  present  annual  supplies  date  before ; 
commencement.         ♦  *  ♦  ^  ^^^ 

"  Of  the  sum  expended  in  presents,  there  h,  bower  Qf  27t 
portion  which  would  appear  to  be  placed  under  peculiar  cir^j  qjj^ 
stances.     It  has  often  been  represented,  and  lately  on  'aj:--  ™; 
authority,  that,  qf  the  Indians  who  receive  presents  froi]^  .,■ 
British  Government,  a  considerable  number  reside  iff!  |^    ' 
the  United  States,  and  only  resort  to  Canada  at  the  perii'J   ,i  ^ 


1836, 


aalhor 


issue." — (Parliamentary  Accounts  and  papers, ,   ...  . 

No.  212.— Colonies.)  '  into  ei 

For  so  much  of  this  distribution  of  annuities  or  P'*S'-,^%^ 
as  takes  place  under  the  authority  of  the  British  Goi'p 
ment,  and  by  compact  with  the  Indians,  it  is  a  manife^^t'  '^'^'^ 
palpable  violation  of  the  sovereignly  of  the  United  St?  p.*>  1 
and  of  our  neutral  rights,  according  to  the  principles         Vl 
down  and  successfully  maintained  by  our  comanasii'',*"*' 
at  Ghent.     To  have  two  opinions  on  this  point  is  imp'  ""'^B' 
ble.     It  is  a  question  with  but  one  side.    And  for  so  d"'»  *^ 
of  the  distribution  of  presents,  as  goes  on  by  enticing*" 
Indians  within  the  British  lines  for  that  purpose,  as'  ^xj^y^ 
the  other  doings  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  cxj"*  *»    J 
by  me,  they  are  a  violation  of  the  spirit,  it  not  the  'etii^.    * 
our  treaties,  just  rights,  and  laws  regarding  the  Intl?j?»' ^j 

Jay's  Treaty  contained  the  following  article ;  j  Pacific 

"  Art.  3.     It  shall  at  all  times  be  free  to  subjects  of  (^^  ^^  ^ 
Britain,  and  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  also  t'      ^jtk 
Indians  dwelling  on  either  side  of  the  said  boundary  line,f:  . 

lo  pass  and  repass,  by  land,  or  inland  navigation,  into  tlit  P  A 
spective  territories  and  countries  of  the  two  parties  on  the  •'oniier 
tinent  of  America,  (the  country  within  the  limits  of  the  p  fonner 
son's  Bay  Company  only  excepted,)  and  to  r.avigatc  allthitood 
lakes,  rivers,  and  waters  thereof,  and  freely  to  carry  on  ''nt  omci 
and  commerce  with  each  other."  er  We, 

This  was  a  most  unequal  and  inconvenient  provi;thorizinj 
It  is  unequal  in  regard  to  space,  because  it  exceplet'**''^'*®) 
extensive  country  within  the  limits  of  the  Hudson's'*"**'*® 
Company.  It  was  still  further  unequal  by  reason  of™**'*", 
duties  paid  by  our  traders  on  the  importation  of  i'''*'*'^'' 
goods.  But  the  main  objection  tp  it  was  the  faciliti:'^'*^P^ 
afforded  to  British  officers  and  traders  for  tamperiniji  *  conch 
the  allegiance  of  the  Indians  subject  to  the  United  Sti®  to  meel 

The  traders  have  paramount  influence  over  the  Indii^^^Sft  ™^ 
and  it  was  unsparingly  used  by  the  British  against  us '••*  ^'.""^ 
consequence  of  the  presperity  of  the  Northwest  Comp™  "  '^' 
there  grew  up  another  on  the  same  plan,  called  the  IVh**"^*'  *  ' 
naw  Company,  which    established  its  head-quarter-'"***   .  ' 
Michilimackinac,  and  trapped  and  traded  in  the  greai"*.  ••  8' • 
gion  west  and  southwest  of  that  point,  in  Michigan,  V'  *J*y  sH 
cousin,  Illinois,  and  on  the  waters  of  the  Misssigt'?  Utpitc 
Missouri,  and  Arkansas,  all  within  the  acknowledge'"****'  '^^^ 
mits  of  the  United  States. — (Irving's  Asforio,  vol.  1,  p 
136.)    Prior  to  Jay's  treaty  the  laws  of  Indian  intercc. 
do  not  appear  to  have  had  much,  if  any,  political  bean: 
but,  after  the  conclusion  of  that  treaty,  there  is  a  vi- 
change  in  the  policy  of  our  Indian  intercourse.     Thr 
ly  acts,  as  that  of  22d  July,  1790,  seem  not  to  have  I 
ed  beyond  the  questions  of  trade  and  police.     Bui 
comparing  the  acts  of  18th  April,  and  19lh  May,  1" 
we  shall  discern  political  objects  in  their  provisions. ; 
especially  the  strong  desire  to  counteract  the  influenc 
British  traders  in  the  Indian  country  by  establishing  \ 
of  our  own  there,  and  promoting  the  trade  of  Americ: 
Actuated  by  these  inducements,  our  Governm  >nt  enci 
aged   Mr.  Astor  in  the  prosecution  of  the  fur-trade 
him  along  the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  because  it  ti 
ed  (o  the  substitution  of  an  American  influence  among 
Indians  in  place  of  a  British. 

The  war  of  1812  changed  materially  the  relations  of 
parties.  By  the  annexation  of  Louisiana  to  the  Un 
States  the  English  line  was  removed  from  the  Mississi: 
The  United  States  was  relieved  from  the  troubles 
clauses  of  Jay's  treaty.  In  the  negotiations  for  the  c 
mercial  intercourse  between  the  two  countries,  which} 
Juccd  the  successive  conventions  of  1815,  1818,  and  1? 


^-operation  of  the  ;« Unite  J  States  refused  to  renew  the  stipulations  of  the 
;,  and  has  been  obta^  article  of  Jay's  treaty.  Since  the  war,  therefore, 
the  years  1777  and  l*t  Britain  has  enjoyed  no  peculiar  treaty  privileges  of 

it  is  from  these  percourse  with  the  Indians  of  the  United  States,  as  she 
lual  supplies   date  before  ;  and  it  is  left  to  stand  upon  general  principles. 

*  a  had  purchased  wisdom  by  dear  experience.  Hence  (he 

enta,  there  is,  liowcr  ^f  27th  April,  1816,  based  upon  the  principles  assum 

i.irrir_»    xMi        ^    [„  '     1-.    1-     /• ; ._  . u:u:i.«.l    <■_»„ 


ced  under  peculiar  cir^t  Ghent,  by  which  foreignerri  were  prohibited  from 

recehTvretel%  "/Vo';""*  '^"'»  """^  I"'^'""^'  ^^^"  ^'°°'^«  ^^l"^  subjected  to 
bfeZrberresid^^^^^^        f^  their,  persons  (ui.Tess  fortified  with  a  pass- 

0  Canada  at  the  peritO  *©  a  fine  and  imprisonment ;  and  the  President  be- 
ind  papers,  1836,  vol  aolhorized  to  employ  the  military  force  to  carry  the 

r  into  effect. 

1  of  annuities  or  pre«.^'**'^  provisions,  needful  as  they  are  to  the  peace  of  the 
J  of  the  British  Go\***^  States,  are  evaded,  by  the  InHians  being  inveigled 
ians  it  is  a  manife>^i''  Canada  to  receive  stipulated  war  subsidies  or  annual 
itv  of  tliP  TTni««.l  «,8ent8,  as  proved  by  the  evidence  of  Mackenzie,  of  Gen- 
la  to  the  prSlS"  Clark  and  Cass,  of  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  of  Mr.  Fulker- 
l  by  our  comaiissic''  *"''  "*®  avowal  of  Lord  Glenelg ;  they  are  evaded  by 
on  this  Doint  is  iinn'  ^'•'eg"*'  »''  »"'  boundary,  so  easy   in  those  vast  re- 

side  And  for  so  n"*»  *^'ending  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
fjoes  on  by  enticino^^  the  line,  though  designated  by  treaty,  has  not  been 
for  that  Burpose  a°*  "  marked  ;  and  they   aro  nullified,  and  utterly  set  at 

Bay  Company  'cxM^'  ^V  ^^^  '"^rusion  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
spirit  if  not  the  1611®*°*  *'°""'''y  °^  ''^®  Columbia  river,  debauching,  cor- 
I  recardinc  the  Inil^**°''  ^"'^  arming  against  us,  the  numerous  tribes  in- 
winc  article  •  hitin^  the  immense  country  between  the  Mississippi  and 

-  *=  ,  ■  ,  .5  Pacific  ocean.  It  is  impossible  to  reconcile  these  things 
.  !.%!°.  ^""^i^T,     ^th  the  neutral  obligations  of  Great  Britain.     Her  prac- 

'i:titrdu7/.in:.  ."''•^r  ^"^"h^  ""  •^  g-r'^f^^^^  ?u'T'''' 

■1  navigation,  into  fh,»?  "^7  *'""§  ™'^"=*'  ?".'  "'''"^"^  ^."''^  ''""^  ?"  *'>•'  P^"?" 
iH  two  parlies  on  the  froBt'^r;  the  latter  being  a  transient  popular  outbreak, 
in  the  limits  of  the  P  fonner  an  organized  system  ;  our  Government  having 
and  to  navigate  all^hatood  and  suppressed  this,  while  the  British  Govern- 
i  freely  to  carry  on  snt  officially  and  publicly  participates  in  that.  What- 
er  we,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  can  do,  by 
inconvenient  provi^^'^O'izing  ^^^  establishment  of  a  post  on  the  Columbia,  or 
)ecause  it  exceplec'^^'^'BCi  to  put  a  stop  to  these  abuses,  should  be  done, 
s  of  the  Hudson's ''•'®*'i6  Executive  should  be  invoked  to  exert  to  the 
icqual  by  reason  01™^  •"•^  ^^^  peculiar  powers  conferred  on  him  by  the 

de  importation  of  i'""t'*"t'on- 

I  it  was  the  facilitii^'*  ^P^aker,  I  hasten  to  bring  these  protracted  remarks 
lers  for  tamrjerim/  '^  conclusion.  I  feel  sensible  of  the  difficulties  I  am  lia- 
ct  to  the  United  Su®  *®  meet  in  bringing  beforre  the  House  a  subject  which, 
jenccovrr  the  In(lk**^8i^  much  and  ably  discussed  in  former  Cowgreases,  has 

British  against  us  '*•*  thrust  aside  by  more  engrossing  domestic  questions, 
e  Northwest  Comi  **•!  ^  '^>  *<*  n»any  intents,  and  especially  in  its  present  re- 
plan  called  the  Ms****"*"  *  "^^  °"^'  '  ''^ve  now  done  my  duty.  I  have  ex- 
d  its'  head-quarter-"®^  (BiCts  which  seem  to  me  important  to  be  understood; 

traded  in  the  greai"'  *•  S'*^  '^^^  effect  to  which,  I  have  deemed  it  necessa- 
int,  in  Michigan,  V^  *5^«y  .^hp^'lgo  fo'i^i.to  ^he  country  from  the  Halls  of 
rs  of  the  Missig"'®  Capitol.  The  whole  of  our  fur  trade;  our  whale  fish- 
n  the  acknowledjre"»«5  ou'f  intercourse  with  Asia,  giving  profitable  employ- 
's Astoria,  vol.  1,  p 
s  of  Indian  intercom 

any,  political  bean 

eaty,  there  is  a  y'n  > 

intercourse.  The 
leem  not  to  have  I 

and  police.     But. 

and  19th  May,  i: 

II  their  provisions, 
teract  the  influem 
y  by  establishing  p 
le  trade  of  Americ; 

Governm  >nt  enci 

of  thti  fur-trade 
sifjpi,  because  it  ti 
n  influence  amon^ 


ment  to  so  many  millions  of  our  capital,  and  to  the  \ 
tion  of  all  parts  of  the  country,  are  at  stake  in  thii 
lion.  Our  Indian  relations  are  involved  in  it.  Upoii  its 
issue  depends  the  fate  of  a  noble  domain,  the  seat,  in  no 
Jletant  time,  of  prosperity  and  of  power.  It  is  important  if! 
all  points  of  view.  That  wide  region,  the  interior  plateau 
of  the  continent,  with  its  wild  mountains  and  its  romantic 
scenes  of  chase  and  war;  that  ocean  of  the  prairies,  with 
its  peril,  its  adventure,  its  hardihood  of  life,  so  analogous 
to  the  sublimity  of  spectacle  and  the  stirring  vicissitudes  of 
the  sea  itself;  those  rich  valleys  of  the  Oregon,  through 
which  the  same  bright  banner  which  sparkles  on  the  At« 
lantic  may  carry  the  stars  of  our  civilization  westward  to 
the  Pacific — all  this  will  be  possessed  and  peopled  ere  lung, 
either  by  England  or  by  us.  Which  shall  it  be  1  Can 
the  sense  of  our  true  interest,  can  the  honor  and  pride  of 
the  nation  hesitate?  It  is  a  country  ours  by  right ;  ours  by 
the  necessities  of  geographical  position  j  ours  by  every  con- 
sideration of  national  safety;  and  ours  it  will  be  in  tranquil 
possession,  if  we  temperately  but  firmly  assert  our  rights. 
The  world  is  wide  enough  for  England  and  for  us.  We 
have  much  to  gain  by  a  cordial  intercourse,  conducted  as 
becomes  nations  of  the  same  blood  and  the  same  tongue, 
each  at  the  head  of  civilization  in  its  proper  hemisphere; 
much  to  hazard,  by  practieing  or  suffering  encroachments 
on  either  side.  Off-shoots  of  that  dominant  race,  which, 
starting  from  the  mountains  of  Caucasus,  has  proceeded  in 
opposite  directions,  east  and  west,  encircling  the  globe,  if 
we  are  to  confront  each  other  on  the  adverse  shores  of  Asia 
and  of  America,  there  let  us  meet  in  confident  good-will, 
imbued  with  that  just  consciousness  of  each  other's  power, 
and  that  mutual  respect  for  each  other's  rights,  which  are 
the  only  sure  foundation  of  stable  peace. 

[After  some  remarks  from  Mr.  Howard,  of  Maryland, 
and  Mr.  Ei.more,  of  South  Carolina,  the  original  resolu- 
tion was  adopted  by  the  House  without  a  division,  together 
with  an  addition  moved  by  Mr.  Elmore,  as  follows ; 

"  Resolved,  further.  That  the  Comniitiee  on  Foreign  Affairs 
be  instructed  to  inquire  into  tfie  e.ttent  of  the  country  claimed 
by  the  United  Slates  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  the  title  under  which  it  is 
claitned,  and  the  evidence  of  the  correctness  of  the  title  ;  the 
extent  of  seacoast,  and  the  number  and  description  of  its  har- 
bors ;  the  nature  of  the  climate,  soil,  ,jroductions,  and  trade ; 
and,  also,  whether  it  is  expedient  to  t  ^tabtish  a  Territorial  Go- 
vernment, or  one  or  more  military  posts,  as  possession  for  the 
same  or  any  part  thereof;  and  wliat  will  be  the  expense  neces- 
sary to  establish  the  same,  and  the  annual  expenses  for  its  sup- 
port;  what  fortifications  and  ships  will  be  required  for  saic' 
Territory,  and  what  number  of  soldiers  and  sailors  will  be  neces- 
sary for  its  protection,  both  in  time  of  peace  and  in  case  of  a 
war  with  any  foreign  Power;  and  that  the  committee  report 
thereon  to  this  House."] 


lly  the  relations  of 
uisiana  to  the  Un 
I  from  the  Mississi: 
"rom  the  troubles, 
rotiations  for  the  c 
countries,  which  [ 
1815,  1818,  and  1? 


